Cooper The Vampire Slayer
by Imogen LeFay
Summary: Buffyverse!AU oneshot series, in which Cooper wants to save the world, Kurt just wants to spend his undeath in peace, and Blaine would really appreciate it if people could stop kidnapping him all the time.
1. The Enemy Of Your Enemy

_**Disclaimer:**_ _The characters as known from Glee, as well as the concepts of the slayer and other things as known from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, are clearly not my invention. Just borrowing it all to play around a bit.  
_

 ** _Summary:_** _Buffy!verse AU. Returning to Sunnydale, vampire Kurt Hummel is certain of one thing: he is never ever going back to work with the slayer and his little gang of misfits - at least not for anything beneath the apocalypse._  
 _That is, of course, until the slayer's brother and everybody's favorite damsel in distress, Blaine Anderson, gets kidnapped. Again. Because of course._

 _ **Story Notes:** A series of oneshots, not necessarily told in chronological order, in an AU verse in which Cooper is the Chosen One a la Buffy the Vampire Slayer, trying to save the world with his ever expanding gang of scoobies, including his watcher Sue Sylvester, his brother Blaine, and the very reluctant vampiric ally Kurt._  
 _While Cooper is in the title, the red thread in this verse is the growing relationship between Blaine, who as the slayer's brother and from personal experience not too happy with the demons in his life, and Kurt, who as a vampire is not too keen on allying with the slayer but finding himself dragged back into things again and again._  
 _...what do you mean this show had something other than Klaine?_

 _Anyway, to remind you again, these oneshots are not going to be posted chronologically, I'll put a timeline in my profile, but they're not necessarily supposed to be read in that timeline. I hope this will work and this story - the first written, but not the first the characters have been through - won't be too much In Medias Res. So now, prepare for vampires, blood, horrible fight scenes, and a damsel in distress who's very tired of their role._

 _Cooper, the Vampire Slayer_

 **The Enemy Of My Enemy**

Leaves were rustling in the wind, an owl was calling, and there was the quiet fluttering of wings as some bird or other soared through the night, searching for prey. It was a quiet night. A dark one, too, despite the full moon. It was hiding behind the clouds again and again. Only for a few moments at a time did it manage to shine through and fill the night with a pale light.

It was cold, and dark, and mostly quiet. Too quiet for Sunnydale.

Kurt Hummel was always alert when he walked through the nightly streets of Sunnydale. He knew how to defend himself, of course, and he knew what was lurking in the shadows better than most people in this sad little town. He also knew that not all of those creatures were too fond of him. But that was fine, he was hardly fond of anyone, either.

Something wasn't right.

Kurt couldn't have said what it was exactly, but there was something in the air – the wind didn't feel quite right, the light didn't fall the way it was supposed to, and he could feel the hairs on his neck standing up. Something was going on. But then again, this was Sunnydale. He'd be more worried the night there wasn't something strange going on.

Even the cemetery had been too quiet tonight. Kurt knew for a fact that there were at least four different covens of vampires in Sunnydale right now, and the last few nights he'd avoided the cemetery altogether, just to stay clear of them, their noisiness and all their stupid games.

And to think that being a vampire had at one point in time had an air of sophistication...

He never should have made that journey back to Ohio. It had been necessary at the time, but when Kurt had returned, he found a new coven way too close to his own sanctuary. Their leaders were two meat-heads, who were still wearing letterman jackets and acted like they were high school jocks. Kurt really didn't understand how some vampires chose their spawn, not that he'd ever been in that situation. And it wasn't just the new neighbors. When he thought about what he had actually gotten out of the visit...

New nightmares, mostly. Visions of blood over too pale skin, golden eyes wide open with terror, the mouth opened in a silent scream or maybe a beg for mercy, for help...

Kurt shuddered and shook his head. They were nothing but images. And even if they were more, images of the future maybe – why should he care?

Right now, he had better things to do than wonder about visions of carnage, or about those silly gangs of newcomers, or about that feeling of weirdness in the air. What he really needed to deal with was the thirst.

After Ohio, all he had wanted was to get away, and for those last few days he hadn't gotten around to drink. By now, it was hard to ignore it. If he didn't get any blood soon, he might very well lose control. And if he lost control... well, then Sunnydale really was the worst place to do so. Any other ridiculous town in the world mostly held idiots who had no idea about the supernatural lurking just outside their awareness. Sunnydale had the slayer. And unfortunately, the slayer knew way too much about him.

Kurt looked around, and finally, he caught the scent of blood. Not much, probably only one person. All the better. Carefully, he followed the smell, until he could see what kind of person he had been following – and gasped.

It was a young man, wearing leather, his dark hair slightly curling in the damp air. Kurt couldn't see his face, but an image sprang into his mind, an image of blood on a stone floor, a lifeless body...

He shook his head, tried to get rid of the image, and only looked up when the person he'd been following screamed.

Apparently, Kurt had been too focused on the blood and he hadn't noticed the other vampires following the same prey. There were three of them, probably from that new gang. But most importantly, he could see the young man he'd been following. He was now lying on the ground and Kurt could actually see his face. It was a stranger to him. Apparently blood wasn't the only thing he was obsessed with.

For a moment, he considered. The easy thing would be to step away, not to force a confrontation. Let them have the boy, what did it matter to him? He would find somebody else in Sunnydale to drink from, maybe even some other pretty boy with dark hair and wide eyes... this one wasn't special.

But then, of course, those idiot vampire fledglings had to start talking.

"Just look at it squeal... little rat. Squeal for us, will you?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. It was his experience that most vampires found way too much pleasure from listening to their own voices, and unfortunately, these were two extremely idiotic examples of his kind.

"I had a pet rat once," one of the vampires said. "I ate it."

Kurt groaned. Whatever he would do, he would not stand here and listen to this idiocy, if only for self-preservation. He could feel his already thin patience strain even more.

The human boy was whimpering, begging for his life. It was a more than pathetic display...

"You know what he looks like?" the third vampire said, and Kurt rolled his eyes even harder. "Like a flying squirrel!"

His companions stared at him.

"You know, like the rescue rangers?"

And that was enough.

"Those are chipmunks, you neanderthal!"

The four people on the street looked up in shock as he stepped into the light of a flickering street lamp. For a moment, they just stared at him, and then one of the vampires stepped right in front of him.

"I know who you are," he said.

Kurt sighed. "Of course you do."

The vampire spat onto the floor. "You're disgusting," he said.

"Look who's talking."

"You're a traitor to our kind," the vampire hissed. "I know everything about you."

A smirk appeared on Kurt's face. "I seriously doubt that," he said. "But if you've heard of me, you should know better than to annoy me. In fact, why don't you try to be a nice little rat and go scram? That kid and me have some... business." He smirked and let his fangs show.

It didn't have the desired effect.

"We saw him first," the probably dumbest vampire protested.

"You've been gone for a while, Hummel," their apparent leader said, ignoring his companion. "This is our territory now, and you're outnumbered. So how about you go take care of your own business and leave us the hell alone?"

Kurt shook his head. "I don't see that happening," he said. Not after he went up against these fledgelings. They understood dominance, he wasn't going to back down now. "But if you want to test your luck... Be. My. Guest."

Unfortunately, dominance wasn't a match to their confidence, or stupidity, as it may be, not when they outnumbered him three to one, so a second later, all three of them were jumping at him.

Kurt had been in a lot of fights since he'd become a creature of the night, and these kids probably hadn't spent even a year among the damned. Even three to one barely put them on even footing.

Kurt dodged under the first attack, but grabbed onto the attacker's outstretched fist to take his arm. One swing let the fledgling fall against one of his friends, while the second one managed to avoid the flying body. That gave him enough time to attack Kurt, but by the time he had come close enough, Kurt had seen him already. With more speed than the fledgling had expected, Kurt had jumped towards him and taken hold of his shoulders with one hand, his head with the other. He jumped back, not letting go of the head, and as if he had torn on paper, his vampire strength had separated it from the body. Underneath his hands, he could feel the head as well as the body turn into dust.

A scream reminded him of the two other vampires. The one he had thrown was running up to him. Kurt bowed down and used the other vampire's force of attack against him, to throw him over his own head and to the ground. His foot kicked up a branch lying on the ground, and he plunged it into the other creature's heart.

But even as he saw the creature crumble to dust, he could feel a presence behind him, and then, a foot hooked around his leg. He lost his balance and fell to the floor. He managed to avoid injury, but as he tried to regain control he could see the face of their leader in front of him, fangs bared, and he knew he wouldn't be able to react in time. The fangs came closer and then...

A wet, plunging noise pierced the night, followed by a gurgle. Kurt could just see the stake protruding from the vampire's chest, before the creature crumbled into dust. Behind him, an all to familiar face appeared.

Cooper Anderson, former minor commercial actor, current writer of supernatural romance novels, bane of Kurt's existence, also known as the Slayer.

Cooper took his hand and hurled him to his feet. In the same movement, he whirled around to the last remaining person on the scene, the boy who was supposed to be dinner, but he was already running off. Kurt's instinct was to go after him, but Cooper held out an arm to stop him.

"Leave him," he said, "he's been scared enough for today."

"Maybe I disagree," Kurt said, glaring at him.

But the boy was too far gone, and he really wasn't worth starting a fight with the slayer over him.

"I'm actually here to check on you," Cooper said. "Tina found you on a scouting spell by accident. There's something we need to discuss." There was a tension around Cooper that was unusual. Of all the slayers Kurt had encountered, Cooper had always been the goofiest. And experience said that whenever Cooper Anderson got serious, it was time to run the other way.

"Fun as that was, I actually have places to be, so I guess I'll see you around."

"I need your help," Cooper said, ignoring what Kurt had said.

And that was definitely the most annoying thing if you compared Cooper Anderson to all the other slayers. Usually, Kurt had stayed away from them, and there was that ugly business where he ended up killing one, but Cooper... He didn't work alone, he networked. And Kurt believed very much in the Art of War, and old proverbs, and the enemy of your enemy is your friend, and all that. Kurt liked the world and didn't want to see it destroyed, so eventually, it had become necessary to offer his help to the slayer and his little gang.

Unfortunately, it hadn't remained at that one time. Instead, he found himself helping them out on a regular base. Hell, even his trip to Ohio had partly been to just get away from that ridiculous gang. Kurt hated being dragged into this, and on several occasions he had considered explaining to Cooper and his gang that the "friend" part of the old saying was not meant literally.

"Look, Cooper, I'm sure you'll have a blast with whatever idiot witch or vampire you feel you have to hunt down now, but I actually just came back from Ohio, so how about we use this opportunity to reestablish some ground rules?"

"Well, I know that you, like every vampire in the goddamn world, enjoy listening to your own voice, but guess what? I don't have time for this. I need your help, _now_."

Kurt blinked at him. That was unusual. "I don't even know what you're dealing with. Why do you think I could even help?" And damn, that almost sounded as if he wanted to help, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

"The Eerie," Cooper said, even more serious now, and the softest hints of a crack was in his voice.

Kurt felt a shudder run through him. "The sisters?" he repeated. "There is no way in all the hells, Anderson."

He had encountered them once, horrible creatures disguised as old women, who in their real form looked more like birds, with cold dead eyes and claws made to rip into a throat, a beak of silver...

"I know where their lair is," Cooper continued, "but I can't enter it, no human can."

"One can," Kurt said, "that's the whole point. They come in, they take their sacrifice, and once they've drained the life force, they leave again." He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. There was no reason to get upset, no way in hell that Cooper would make him deal with the Eerie again.

"They're in Sunnydale," Cooper said, his voice solemn as a grave, "they took their sacrifice, and they're going to kill him before the full moon passes."

"So tomorrow the latest?" Kurt said. "Well, then that poor idiot is out of luck. Once they have their sacrifice, no human can enter or leave their lair until the ritual is over. Sorry, looks like you lost this one."

"We didn't!"

Kurt involuntarily took a step backwards at the fierce expression.

"We can still save him, Kurt – _you_ can save him. You're a vampire, you can still enter the lair and save him."

Kurt sighed and shook his head. "I'm missing one central property for that," he said, "and that's complete insanity."

"What?"

"Look, this is just the right time to get things straight," Kurt said, "I may have helped you in the past, but that doesn't make me part of your little gang. My heart won't break when you don't manage to save every single person in this pathetic little town. I can actually sleep during the day if I'm not eligible for sainthood. Now there are things you can fight, and there are things you have to accept. The Eerie are ridiculously powerful, and extremely vicious. And what's the big deal? They take one human every ten years to nourish themselves. It's sad for the one they got, but if you focus on the big picture it's not that tragic. And it's definitely not enough to make me risk my life or at least sanity by facing them again. Go find some other non-human who will play the part of you lapdog, but there is nothing you can say that will make me go up against the Eerie."

Content with this speech, Kurt gave him one last triumphant look before he turned around to leave. That should do it. Even as he could hear Cooper inhale to get ready for an answer, Kurt wasn't worried. Because he had been honest. Nothing in the world would make him even consider attacking the sisters.

But when Cooper spoke, his voice was softer, devoid of the anger he had just displayed and almost reduced to pleading.

"They took Blaine."

Kurt stopped dead in his track. It took him a few moments until his voice returned, even if it was only a soft, almost croaked "What?"

"They took my brother," Cooper said.

Usually, Kurt would have commented on the repetition – as if he didn't know who Blaine was – but in this moment, he only felt shocked. Although now that he thought about it, he really shouldn't have been surprised. Something evil came to Sunnydale, looking for only one person to abduct and endanger. _Of course_ , they took Blaine. Who else could it be? It wasn't even the expected side-effect of being the slayer's younger brother – of course that painted a bull's eye on the boy's back – but even accounting for that, he was a magnet for trouble. Yes, Blaine being caught by forces of evil wasn't a surprise – it was Tuesday.

Kurt looked down to see his hands tremble. No, it wasn't a surprise. It was all to familiar, although this rising feeling of dread was new. As he closed his eyes, he saw the same image again, blood spilled over too pale skin, dead eyes wide open...

"Where?"

It was more of a growl than anything, and effectively shut up Cooper, who had still been trying to convince him to help. Idiot that he was, he had apparently not the slightest idea that he had already said the only thing that would ever make Kurt go up against the Eerie.

"Where did they take him?"

"You'll help?" Cooper asked.

Kurt whirled around and fixated the slayer with the most vicious glare he could muster.

"Where is he?" he growled.

To his credit, Cooper hardly flinched. "The portal is in the closed down factory. Tina found them through a scouting spell – that's also how we found out you're back in town. Let me tell you, you've got one hell of a timing."

Kurt shuddered. "Let's see about that tomorrow."

* * *

It didn't look that special. In his time as a vampire, Kurt had seen several portals, but this would definitely rank among the least impressive. In the dirty wall of the old factory building, there was one circle that looked different. It was silver, apparently a color the Eerie were quite fond of, and Kurt would have almost thought it could be a mirror, but it showed no reflection, only a shadow as he came closer. As he put a finger onto it, he could feel the surface underneath his skin give in easily. It felt as if he was touching honey, though without the stickiness. He pulled his finger back, satisfied for now with the information that the portal would let him through.

Behind him, he could feel the eyes of Cooper, Tina, and two other scoobies whose names he couldn't remember right away. (Sam was the tall blond one, and the ill-tempered dark-haired girl was called Santana, and damn it, how would anybody ever believe him that he didn't care about any of them if he couldn't even keep up the charade in his own mind?)

This was the last chance Kurt had to walk away from this, but he knew that he wouldn't. Somewhere beyond this portal, was Blaine – locked up somewhere if he was in time, in the middle of the sacrifice if he was late... or maybe already dead, on a stone floor, in a pool of his own blood, if he was really late.

It was that last image he couldn't get rid off. The second he closed his eyes, it was there, and he knew he couldn't let it happen.

"I can't tell you how long this will take," Kurt said, trying his best to keep his voice calm. "The sisters are extremely dangerous, I'm not sure if I could defeat them if I tried..."

"Just..." Cooper's voice was close to breaking as he spoke. "Just bring him back. I don't care about the Eerie, stay out of their way if you can, just... just bring back Blaine."

Kurt nodded, but there wasn't anything else left to say. Without a glance back to the slayer and his little gang, he stepped through the portal.

The moment his body pierced the shimmering membrane, he could feel a gust of wind enveloping him. He had to close his eyes, as the cold washed over him. There was a ringing in his ears, and the longer it went on, the louder it got until he thought he could actually hear a melody in it...

And then, it stopped.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a stone corridor. Although there was no source of illumination, everything had a bright gray shimmer. The walls didn't look right, too smooth and too polished, and the floor was made from the same material. It was surreal – but also familiar.

He had been here once before, a long time ago... Back in the first years of being a vampire, those first years that he could actually remember clearly. It had been a friend the sisters had taken then, and he had been stupid enough to think he could just walk in and save her, drunk on his new immortality and power. The sisters had taught him a much needed lesson that night. If he had known what they were like, he never would have walked through the portal back then.

But this was Blaine, who was sweet and idealistic, and who wouldn't even be in this godforsaken town if it wasn't for Kurt. The sisters could take whoever else they wanted, but not him. Not while Kurt still had blood inside him to fight.

Careful not to make any noise, Kurt walked through the corridors. It was impossible to say at what point the Eerie were in their sacrifice ritual. He knew they would have started now, one of them praying over a brew they had made, with the sacrifice being made only in the last stage of the ritual. He could hear chanting from some place he couldn't quite identify. It was a relief, if they weren't done then he could at least be sure that Blaine was still alive. All he had to do was find the cell they kept him in, and free him without getting noticed. It didn't sound too hard... of course, he wasn't sure if all of the sisters were at the ritual or if they kept a guard with their victim. He knew way too little about them in general, which made his current mission even more of a complete lunacy.

Kurt stopped in his track, when a wave of smell hit him. Blood. There was no mistake, blood had been spilled, and close by.

He was running before he had made a conscious decision, following the smell. The more he focused, the more he could take in another smell, similar to blood, but without the copper taste. Silver, maybe... but it didn't matter, because the closer he came, the better he could concentrate on the smell that was actual blood. Kurt didn't believe in the way some vampires went on about the blood of special people whose taste and smell was completely unique. He had always thought it was just superstition, or the vampires trying to defend their obsession with one particular person. But he knew this particular smell, couldn't forget it since that one taste he had gotten of it.

It was Blaine's.

The vision he had been shown returned to his inner eye, and if his heart could still beat, it would stop at this point. Anything but this... he couldn't be too late!

He followed the smell of blood around a corner, and he could already see that he had arrived at the cell. There were bars, and the cell door was open, but there was a figure lying on the ground. At first, all Kurt could see was the red pool of liquid surrounding the figure.

Shocked, Kurt came to a halt. No, this could not be happening, he couldn't be too late. And why would they kill him here, not in the ritual? But then he took a closer look. The figure on the ground was humanoid, dressed in what looked like a long, silken dress of bright gray. But he could see bird feathers all over its skin, the beak protruding from its face, and the silvery shimmer in what he thought was blood. Kurt's eyes widened. It was one of the sisters, and she was dead.

He looked closer, and now he could see more, the shine of blood on her claws, and drips of it on the ground, outside the pool she was lying in. Blaine had been here, and Blaine had been bleeding. But now the boy was gone, and a dead sister was lying at his feet. Could Blaine have possibly freed himself? Or was there somebody else that had entered, had attacked the Eerie?

It didn't really matter, he needed to find the boy and get the hell out of here.

Kurt stepped away from the body of the sister and concentrated on his sense of smell. With the sister being so close, it was a bit harder to catch the trace of Blaine's blood, but it was as if it called to him – just like all those cliches he had claimed didn't exist. And then he caught it again, and just followed it. Once he had stepped away from the sister it got easier, especially when he noticed traces of blood drops on the floor. Blaine was still bleeding, leaving a track behind. Kurt could only hope that he could follow it before the remaining sisters would find the boy.

It was easier now, following the faint trace of blood as well as the visual one, and he ran as fast as he could, less worried now about noise than about getting to Blaine in time. He stopped immediately, when he realized that he had ended up at the portal again. There was a small pool of blood that hadn't been there when Kurt had arrived. Blaine had been here in the meantime, but had he managed to get out through the portal or was he still around?

Kurt was just about to analyze the pattern of blood, when a screech sounded in his ears. As fast as he could, Kurt spun around, just in time to see the claws and beak of one of the sisters. His thoughts went back to Mercedes, how helpless he had been to save her... but not anymore. He dodged, and even as he dove out of her reach he brought up his foot in a kick to the sister's stomach. She stumbled back, screeching again to alert her fellow sisters... sister, Kurt remembered, they were a trio and one was unable to come to help. Kurt was on his feet again, letting his own claws protrude and hissed at her. But even then, he knew he was in trouble. He was faster, stronger, but he wasn't sure if he had any weapon to actually wound the sister with. It hadn't worked last time. He could only try to incapacitate her, and then run, find Blaine as fast as possible and get the hell out of here...

But the sister was faster than he had thought, and again he could see the beak coming closer. He brought up his claws, trying to protect his throat and then...

Then a fountain of slimy, silvery blood exploded from the creature's beak, hitting Kurt's torso and chin. The creature stumbled, and she fell on him. Frantically, Kurt pushed the body off himself, and turned around to see just what had happened...

There was someone standing behind her, a wooden stake in his hands that was completely red with blood. Kurt forced himself to look away from the weapon to the person's face.

He was paler than he had any right to be after months under the Sunnydale sun, but the black curls were as unmistakable as the wide hazel eyes that looked at him frantically, or the bizarre eyebrows hovering over them.

"Blaine!"

The boy stared at him in disbelief, which slowly morphed into giddy happiness, and then a soundless laughter that almost bordered to hysterical.

"Kurt," he gasped eventually. The boy stumbled, almost fell onto the corpse between them, and Kurt had to step forward to catch him. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Ohio."

"Vacation's over," Kurt said, "and of course I come back just to find you in need of rescuing again." He took another look at the creature to their feet. "Or at least I thought I did." He looked back to the boy he was still holding upright. His shirt was ripped and bloody. On the right side of his chest, Kurt could see where the claws had torn open the skin. His left sleeve was red, too. It was hard to say how bad those injuries were, but they were more than enough for Kurt to worry. How much blood had he lost by now?

Blaine grinned, although he was still weak on his feet. "It's been a while... I tried to keep busy," he said.

Again, Kurt looked from the boy to the creature on the ground.

"You killed her," he said, disbelief coloring his voice. "You killed one of the sisters... No, wait, _two_ of them. How the hell did you do that?"

With a twirl, Blaine brought up the stake he had kept in his hand. As he had thought on first glance, it was covered in blood. But then, Blaine let it drop and took another one out of his belt.

"They didn't think to take them off me," he explained, "probably didn't think some wood could even hurt them. They were a bit too confident, of course."

To Kurt's surprise, he rolled back his sleeve. There was a long cut on the inside of his arm, obviously the reason for the bloodied sleeve. It was clear that it had bled before, but by now the beginning of a crust had built over it. Blaine hesitated, then he pushed the sleeve back down, and opened a few buttons on his shirt. Kurt wasn't sure what it was good for, as most of the fabric had been ripped apart by claws. But Blaine uncovered the wound on the right side of his chest. Kurt flinched as he inspected the cuts that had torn the skin and muscle underneath it.

"What are you doing?" Kurt asked.

"Arming myself," Blaine explained, his breath heavy, as he took the stake and rolled it over the wound, covering it in his blood.

"Are you insane? Do you have any idea how unhygienic this is?" Kurt asked.

"Very," Blaine said, "but I think I'll worry about infections once I get out of here alive."

"What is this even?" Kurt asked.

"They did something to me when I came here," Blaine said. The boy stumbled again, and Kurt put an arm around his waist to keep him upright. "They did some spell," the boy continued, although he was now leaning against Kurt. "I'm not sure, but they said it was to make my energy compatible to theirs. We did some research when we noticed them coming, it said that they could only be destroyed by something like them. So... with you supernaturals, it's always about the blood. I figured if my blood was compatible to them, maybe it was enough to hurt them. And well..." He shrugged. "It was."

"But... how did you overwhelm them?"

"They have these claws," Blaine said, "when they locked me up, I fought enough for them to make me bleed. And if I learned one thing from Cooper, it's to always have stakes ready. So I got one all bloody and waited for that first one to come and take me out of the cell. They didn't expect me to fight, or to have a weapon that can hurt them. I caught it by surprise, so I stabbed it. I didn't really think it would work this well, but..." He shrugged again. "Desperate times and all that."

Kurt couldn't help but stare at the boy. "I was gone for a few months," he said, "what the hell happened to you?"

Blaine frowned. "What, did you expect me to just sit around at home waiting for the next entity to hold me hostage or use me in some kind of ritual or experiment again? Of course, I tried to find ways to defend myself. Who wouldn't have?"

"Yeah, but..." Kurt looked back to the bird-like creature on the ground. "There's defending yourself and there's going up against the fucking Eerie!"

"They started it," Blaine said with a shrug. "I tried to find my way back here to get out... wasn't as easy."

"Then why are you still here?" Kurt asked.

As an answer, Blaine leaned against the portal. It could have been a wall for all the difference it made. "I can't leave," Blaine said. "I guess I'm not enough like them, after all. I'm trapped here."

"I can see it," Kurt said. "No mortal can enter or leave while the Eerie complete their ritual."

"So what do I do?" Blaine asked.

A grin appeared on Kurt's face. He was getting a plan, and those always made him feel better. "Well, they can't really complete their ritual if they're all dead, can they?"

Blaine grinned now, too, but then his expression darkened. "But Kurt... I don't think I can kill another one," Blaine said.

Kurt looked him over. It was obvious, why the boy was so pale. He was losing too much blood, he probably wouldn't be able to fight much longer. It was a surprise he had held out this long, really. But he wasn't on his own anymore.

"I told you I came to rescue you," he said. "So guess what I'm going to do?"

Blaine laughed in relief. "I'm so glad you're back," he said, leaning further against the vampire.

Kurt thought back on why he had left Sunnydale in the first place, that he had needed distance and to get away from the slayer and his madness. But then he looked at the boy that was practically in his arms by now, and he couldn't help but smile. "Me too," he said. "Now let's go, you're running out of blood."

And he himself might very well run out of self-control if he smelled it much longer.

They walked slowly, Kurt didn't want to alert the remaining sister or strain Blaine too much. He still kept an arm to the boy's back, to stabilize him if necessary.

"So how long have you been here?" Blaine asked.

"A few days," Kurt said. He tried to strain his ears to catch the sound of the chanting again. Would the remaining sister be wondering already where the other two were? Was she even able to interrupt the ritual?

"Were you going to contact us? You know, if I hadn't been kidnapped again?"

"Oh please, be it the Eerie or somebody else, you getting kidnapped again is just a matter of time anyway," Kurt said.

"Rude," Blaine muttered.

"Honest. Now be quiet, we have a bird to catch."

Blaine frowned, but didn't speak again.

There it was again, the chanting. This time, Kurt tried to follow it and actually walk towards it, instead of avoiding it as he had done before. It was a lot harder, though, to concentrate with the smell of blood so close to him... But he couldn't be distracted. He was here to save the boy, not to kill him. This wasn't about his thirst, no matter how famished he was.

"I can hear her," Blaine said suddenly.

"That's great," Kurt said, "but please shut up. We're trying to surprise her. And don't trample like that. You're too loud."

Blaine frowned, but followed more quietly now. "I'm not trampling," he muttered.

Kurt just rolled his eyes but didn't dignify it with an answer. The chanting did indeed get louder, and he was sure he was going to find the last sister soon. As he followed the corridors, he could even feel the magic in the air. And then, they could see the corridor opening into the chamber.

It was the oldest sister, probably, sitting in front of a cauldron. She was chanting, her voice melodious, and there were wings coming from her shoulders, wide spread. It was beautiful, in a very strange way.

"Stay," Kurt whispered, "give me that stake."

Blaine nodded. Kurt frowned at the sudden compliance, but he only needed to look at the even worse paleness in Blaine's face to realize why he wasn't looking forward to confront the last one. Had he even had any hope of defeating all of them and getting out of here alive, if Kurt hadn't shown up?

Well, he had hope now. Gripping the stake, Kurt stalked into the chamber.

It was for nothing, though, the moment he set his foot onto the chamber's floor, the creature jumped up from her crouch, her wings flaring, and the melodious chanting turned into a screech that made Kurt flinch back. And then, the creature was coming at him, faster than he would have expected, and all he could do was fling himself at her. He held out the stake, but his arm was punched back by her wings. He fell, managed to roll himself away, only to find the beak come down to the spot where his head had been a moment ago.

He thought he could hear Blaine shouting out his name, but he couldn't focus on him now, had to concentrate on the monster attacking him.

She was stronger than her sisters, and there was a fierce intelligence in her silver eyes. Kurt threw himself against her, and managed to knock her off balance, but before he could bring the stake down into her body, he was hit by the wings again, falling to the ground. Again, the sister was above him, a deafening screech coming from her beak, and then... another swipe of her wings threw the stake out of his hands.

Kurt surged upwards, ramming his head into the soft belly of the creature and knocking it away from him. He retreated, trying to get the stake, but he couldn't see it and then...

"HEY!"

Kurt's head shot sideways when he heard Blaine's voice. What was that idiot boy doing now?

He had dragged himself into the cave, and taken the stake.

"No!" Kurt screamed, unable to contain himself. Blaine could not go up against that thing, he was going to die!

The creature screeched, and with a swipe of her wings, she was going at Blaine. But the boy looked straight into her eyes, as if he wasn't afraid... and then threw away the stake, before the creature hit him.

Kurt didn't know who of them had screamed, but instead of straight up ripping off the boy's head, the creature used her claws to grab his shoulders, and drag him to the cauldron.

Of course, he was their sacrifice. She couldn't risk losing him without taking up his energy.

But Kurt couldn't think about it too much anymore. He lunged forward to take the stake, blood still dripping from it. When he looked up, the creature held Blaine over the cauldron, her claw on his throat, ready to cut it open.

Kurt was running, the stake firm in his hand. When he was close enough, he jumped, and rammed the stake into the creature's heart.

Her blood gushed out in a fountain, tainting the silver liquid in the cauldron with red. The creature fell forward, toppling the cauldron over and spilling the liquid onto the marble floor.

Kurt shuddered, the stake falling out of his hand, and he turned around. Blaine had also fallen over, his face between the logs of the fire, dangerously close to the flames. With another jump, Kurt dragged the boy away from it and into his arms.

"You're okay," he whispered, "you're going to be okay, you're fine." He wasn't sure if he was trying to tell it to the boy or himself.

"Is it over?" Blaine asked, blinking rapidly against the dirt and ashes in his face.

"You're an idiot!" Kurt hissed. "But yes, it's over. Come on, let's get you out of here."

It was easier to find the way back to the portal, once again he was able to follow the trace of Blaine's blood. As they walked, he put an arm around the boy's waist to keep him stable. The cut on his throat wasn't deep, hardly more than a prick, but it was just one more point of injury.

It was hard to focus with the smell all around him... But no, not again. He felt guilty for how much his mouth watered at the smell – one more thing he could feel guilty over, just as every single one of these injuries could be traced back to him.

"Thank you for coming," Blaine said, his voice weak.

Kurt frowned. "Save your strength," he said. "Come on."

Ignoring the protests he picked the boy up in his arms. He tried to tell himself it was just because they'd be faster this way, and had nothing to do with the fact that he felt safer when he could actually feel the boy's heartbeat against his skin.

The portal looked just as it had before, but this time, it gave way. Without the influence of the Eerie, it let both of them through, and after the cold and the ringing were gone, he found himself back where they had started. It was obvious from how clear the air was, from the dark colors... and of course of the shouting of Cooper's silly gang.

The boy was taken from his arms, and in the general chaos Kurt could just so hear somebody calling an ambulance.

"What happened?" Cooper asked, holding onto his brother.

"...saved me," Blaine whispered hoarsely. "He was... amazing."

"Your brother is an idiot," Kurt said. "...but I guess he's getting a bit better at taking care of himself."

He hesitated. A part of him wanted to see Blaine in proper care, even though he was safe with his brother and his friends now. But he shouldn't stick around long enough for them to get any more ideas of him being part of their silly group.

"Thank you!"

Kurt looked up in surprise at the sound of Cooper's voice. The slayer actually had tears in his eyes, as he held his brother close.

Kurt blinked. "Forget it," he said, "it's fine. You would have been much more annoying if you'd gone on some crusade of vengeance."

"Still, Kurt... thank you."

Kurt looked at Blaine, whose eyes were falling shut, too exhausted from the blood loss and the fighting to stay conscious much longer.

"Take care of him," Kurt said softly, and then, as if he remembered his supposed reputation, he added, "I didn't go through that hassle just so he can die of blood loss now. Would be such a waste anyway."

Cooper laughed, clearly seeing through his fake bravado. And this was just enough, possibly too much for his reputation to recover from. Without another comment, he made his exit, too fast for any of them to stop him. He had to be back inside before sunrise anyway. Blaine was going to be fine.

* * *

Kurt wasn't sentimental. He made it clear at every opportunity that he didn't care for the slayer and his little circle of friendship that kept recruiting new members. He certainly wouldn't be dragged into it on a permanent base. When he helped out, it wasn't because he cared, but because his own skin was on the line. Those were very clear rules, and it wasn't his fault if the slayer didn't get it.

Of course, Kurt wasn't helping if he was breaking the pattern himself, and things like saving Blaine last night certainly weren't helping with his crumbling reputation. And hell forbid the slayer would ever found out about what he was doing now...

It wasn't completely ridiculous for him to be at the hospital. They were a good source for blood, be it the blood bank or even some of the less conscious patients. After not getting to hunt again last night, Kurt had opted for the safer option of snagging two bags of B+, but that left him with no further reason to be here – at least none that he could reconcile with his reputation.

So here he was, glaring at every staff member or patient that dared to look at him, as he made his way through the corridors and stopped in front of a room. He stayed there for a moment, listening closely to make sure he wouldn't run into the slayer's whole gang, but he couldn't hear anybody. With a sigh, he opened the door, not even bothering with knocking.

The room was white and sterile, like probably any other hospital room would have been. It was small, and there was only one bed. For a moment Kurt wondered just how much Cooper paid for this kind of privacy, but he knew that nothing triggered the slayer's generosity as quickly as an injury to his brother.

Blaine must have been dozing, for as Kurt walked in, he was lying back in his pillows, his eyes closed. He must have heard the entrance, though, as his eyes fluttered open and then landed on Kurt. Slowly, he sat up. A smile formed on his face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "I didn't think you'd be the type for hospital visits."

"Don't get your hopes up," Kurt said, "I just wanted to make sure all my hard work wasn't for nothing."

"I'm still alive, no exsanguination," Blaine said. Grinning, he beckoned Kurt closer, who rolled his eyes before he complied and stepped to the bed.

"So... feeling better?" Kurt asked. He wasn't sure what to say. It had been ages since he had been in a hospital room, and the few times he had been in his past, the patient had usually been on the brink of death. But Blaine's cheeks were rosy, his breathing calm, and he was the picture of life.

"I'm glad you're here," Blaine said, "I don't think I really thanked you yesterday. Actually, I don't even remember how we got back to Sunnydale."

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"I think I almost fell into the fire," Blaine said, "and I think you called me an idiot a lot. But you killed the sister, so I guess I'll forgive that."

"It wasn't that exciting. I got you back to the portal, and then your brother and his friends took care of everything else. You remember all the important stuff."

"I think I do," Blaine said. "Wait, did you carry me?"

"Why would that matter?" Kurt asked, not looking at the boy. "And you _are_ an idiot. What were you thinking, calling attention to yourself like that?"

Blaine shrugged. "I thought she'd be distracted enough not to kill you. And I knew she wouldn't just rip my head off, not if she prepared so much for that ritual. It's not like I would have had a chance to get out of their alive without you anyway. Besides..." Now Blaine was the one looking away.

"Besides what?"

When Blaine looked up, there was a shyness in his eyes that Kurt wasn't used to. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

Kurt blinked. On instinct, he wanted to list all the reasons, why Blaine shouldn't have cared about his well-being in that situation. But he didn't say a word. It was too unusual to have somebody care about him, or even think about prioritizing him.

"You're an idiot," he said instead, though there was affection in his voice. "But you were very brave."

Blaine shrugged, although there was a blush forming in his face. He clearly hesitated for a moment, but then he spoke again. "I used to run away," he said, "before I came to Sunnydale. I had some problems with bullies at my high school, and I always ran away. And in college, back in Columbus, I never spoke up either. I'd go along with my parents' wishes, because I thought it was just for a short time, and if I kept my head down it would pass. My parents, and the other students... I just let it all happen and waited for it to be over. And when I came to Sunnydale... well, mostly I've been sitting around, waiting to be rescued by Cooper... or you. But I think I'm done with it all now."

Kurt looked at Blaine in surprise. He hadn't expected to be taken into his confidence like this. Without thinking about it, he put his hand on Blaine's.

"I guess it felt good to stand up for yourself and fight back," he said.

Blaine smiled, and the only word Kurt could describe that smile with was radiant. "It felt amazing," the boy said. "Thank you for not taking that away from me."

"I can teach you." The words were out of his mouth before Kurt had even registered them. "To fight," he clarified. "I mean, clearly you've taken some kind of lessons in the last few months-"

"Half a year, Kurt!"

"Five months. The point is, I can show you a few tricks, to make sure you can defend yourself even better. If you're interested."

Blaine looked at him with his gold-hazel eyes wide open, but there was a spark of life within them, nothing like his vision. Maybe he could stop worrying at least for a little while.

"I'd be very interested," Blaine said.

Kurt nodded. "Fine. When you're out of here, then. But now you should rest."

If the boy wanted to protest, it was drowned by his yawn. "Guess I should," he said. "Bye Kurt, thanks for coming."

"Just take care of yourself," Kurt said without looking back and left the room.

So maybe he was sentimental. Maybe that silly, naïve, brave boy brought that out in him. It was somehow fine, though. Blaine would live to see another night, and maybe he wasn't as helpless as Kurt had thought. Maybe the writer of that old proverb had been onto something, when he called the enemy of your enemy a friend instead of a mere ally.

But it didn't matter right now. Because right now, Kurt was full of energy, ready to do something productive, and really needed to let off steam to get rid off all this sentimentality.

Time to get these goddamn teenagers off his lawn.


	2. Here Comes The Sun

_**Summary:**_ _Set four months after The Enemy of your Enemy._  
 _"I want to show you something." Kurt isn't sure what he should expect from that announcement, but Blaine manages to surprise him again._

 _Notes: Second story of Cooper, The Vampire Slayer. It got away from me again in the middle of the story, which explains the change from fluff to idiot boys being idiots, but well, this is what it turned out to be. No warnings apply._

 _Cooper, the Vampire Slayer_

 **Here Comes The Sun**

"Well, I'm still not sure what exactly has happened here, but I don't see any bunnies near us, so I'd say we count this as a victory and call it a day. Night. Whatever. Good job, people!"

Kurt just so managed not to roll his eyes. He wasn't really sure either how they had been able to end the last ridiculous crisis, even less sure why exactly he had gotten involved with the slayer and his little gang again, but at least it was over now. There had been way too much fur lately, and there definitely was something like a cuteness overload.

"Are we dismissed now?" Santana drawled from where she was sitting on a table, the head of her faery girlfriend Brittany resting on her shoulder. "I know his will be a surprise to you, but some of us actually have a day job to get to and would appreciate some sleep."

"Of course, sorry," Cooper said and laughed self-consciously. "It's really been a long night, hasn't it? Thanks guys, and I guess I'll see you around – hopefully in private, at least for a while."

"I liked them,"Brittany said, "I had a bunny as a child, but it had to be banished after it smoked all the herbs meant for the midsummer night's ceremony." She tilted her head, before she beamed at Santana. "Do you think we could get a bunny?"

Santana rolled her eyes, even as she looked fondly at her faery girlfriend. "Not in the dorms, I'm afraid," she said. "Come on, let's go, you can tell me all about your pet experiences in my room." Their pinkies linked, the two girls walked out of the room.

There had been a time when Kurt would have been the first one to leave. Technically, there had been a time when he wouldn't even have been at this meeting. He hadn't meant to team up with the slayer and his team on a regular base. It had been just to literally save the world – including his own skin – that had thrown him into the slayer's radius. It was more comfortable than being hunted by the group, sure. But back then, he had wanted nothing more than end this ridiculous alliance as soon as possible.

That had been before Blaine, of course.

Naive, kind, helpless Blaine, the slayer's younger brother and Sunnydale's favorite hostage, who turned to Kurt even more freely than his obnoxious brother did, just trusting that he would receive the help he asked for – or at least, that's how it had been. But for about the past month, Blaine had been looking at him, as if he wanted to ask for something but wasn't sure how to. This was the true reason why Kurt was still here, why he had agreed to help with the bunny crisis and the banshee before, and even that supposed leprechaun that had turned out to be just a very creative prankster at Sunnydale Community College. He had to know if something was going on, just to make sure the boy wasn't in trouble.

It was a ridiculous idea, of course. Whatever was going on, the slayer's brother had enough people at his call that would take care if there was a real problem. But whatever it was, either Kurt was involved or Blaine wanted _his_ help, specifically. It was stupid, but it was enough reason not to leave immediately.

As the group dispersed, though, Blaine was still standing with his brother, talking. It would be too strange to be the last one here, so eventually, Kurt stood up and stretched his shoulders.

"Next time you call me, it better be something important," he grumbled – more show than genuine annoyance, and he figured that by now nobody took him seriously anymore, but he had to keep up some appearances after all.

He walked out of the building and onto the college campus. It was still dark outside, he'd have enough time to get to his refuge safely. He'd even have some time to spare, although not enough for a little hunt. It was fine, though. He had taken blood two days ago, and although blood bags could never be as satisfying as a fresh victim, this way he had way less hassle.

He wasn't surprised when he heard footsteps quickly catching up to him. He didn't need to look up to know it was Blaine.

"Kurt? Do you have a moment?"

Always so polite... Kurt turned around, raising an eyebrow to indicate he was listening.

Blaine was looking up at him, a little uncertain smile on his face. "I wanted to ask you something," he said. His hand went up to his hair – a nervous gesture Kurt had gotten used to.

"Ask then," Kurt said. There was no point in playing games, not when he was about to find out just what had been on Blaine's mind all month. But now that he looked at the boy, Kurt realized that he had been wrong. Blaine wasn't worried, or scared. He was nervous.

"I want to show you something," Blaine said.

"And what would that be?"

Blaine bowed his head, and Kurt could smell blood rush into his face. "Not tonight," he said, "but tomorrow. I'm actually glad we took care of this bunny thing now. It has to be tomorrow night."

Kurt's eyes widened, although he tried to hide his surprise. It had been a long time since it had mattered, but tomorrow was his birthday. He wasn't sure if Blaine even knew.

"It better not be another of these u-turn things," Kurt said to brush over the pause.

Blaine rolled his eyes. "YouTube, Kurt. It's called YouTube. Seriously, my grandparents figured that out." He frowned and shuddered. "Huh... did you realize that you're actually old enough to be my grandfather? That's really weird."

"Is it?" Kurt asked, unimpressed.

"Or my great grandfather," Blaine said. "Great _great_ grandfather..."

"I get your point," Kurt interrupted, "and how old exactly do you think I am?"

"I don't know, you refused to tell me," Blaine said with a shrug. "My point was, I want to show you something, and it's not on YouTube. Just... can we meet? Tomorrow after sundown?"

"Of course," Kurt said automatically. There had been a time when he would have refused out of principle, at least until he had a clearer idea on what he was getting into. But that too had been before Blaine.

Blaine blinked at him in surprise, as if he had expected it would be harder to get Kurt to accept, but he smiled. "O-okay! Cool, so... here, okay? Campus entrance, after sundown? Is that okay for you?"

"I just said it is," Kurt said. The boys uncertainty was charming in a way, a change from the confidence he had gotten used to.

Blaine was still looking at him, almost shyly. Back when Kurt's heart had still been beating, this kind of look would have sent it racing. But he wasn't a boy anymore, wasn't even human anymore, and the kid in front of him was literally decades younger than him, in addition to being the slayer's little brother. It wasn't important that it got harder and harder to put the boy out of his mind.

"You should go, you don't want your brother to get any weird ideas again," Kurt said.

More blood rushed into Blaine's cheeks, and Kurt involuntarily drew in more air. He would never taste it again, but the smell was enough to evoke the old memory of the hot rush of the boy's blood down his throat, the exhilaration that had come with it, the heady feeling...

"You're right," Blaine said, interrupting his thoughts. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Kurt nodded. "I'll be here," he said.

The moment Blaine turned around to return to his brother, the smile that had been on Kurt's face fell. As strong as the memory had just been, as strong is the wave of shame that rolled over him now. It was still one of his best memories, that night when he had drunk the boy's blood. Blaine, he reminded himself, and it was much harder to enjoy the memory when he thought of "Blaine" instead of "the boy". It had been an amazing experience for Kurt, but for Blaine that night had been traumatizing.

That too was a reason Kurt should put the boy out of his mind. You couldn't destroy somebody's life and then expect them to like you.

Disgusted with himself, Kurt turned away. Time to go back to his refuge. It really was where he belonged.

* * *

Kurt had left the vault as soon as the sun had set. He had no idea what exactly Blaine was going to show him, but the moment he had awoken this evening and had remembered they were going to meet, he had been excited. It wasn't a feeling he was used to anymore, and he tried to talk himself into caution, remind himself that he'd probably end up disappointed. Chances were that Blaine was just going to show him some runes or something supernatural that they couldn't figure out. There definitely wouldn't be a birthday present or anything like that.

Then again, if it was something supernatural, why had Blaine wanted to get him alone before asking? Why hadn't he said what it was directly? And why on earth would he have been shy about that?

Well, he was about to get his answer. He had just stopped in front of the campus gates, when he saw Blaine coming out of one of the buildings. It took a few seconds until Blaine noticed him, but even on the distance Kurt could see the smile appearing on his face. In a few quick strides, Kurt was standing with him.

"Well, you've kept me guessing," he said. "So what is this about?"

"You're always so to-the-point," Blaine said, shaking his head. "Hello Kurt, it's nice to see you. Did you sleep well? Sweet dreams?"

"Fine, let's have small talk. Just remember you're the one who insisted on this," Kurt said and rolled his eyes for show.

"Well, yeah," Blaine said, although he didn't meet Kurt's eyes. "I guess I did." He sounded uncertain again, but it wasn't the same adorable shyness from yesterday. In fact, now he seemed downright insecure, as if he was doubting himself.

"What is it?" Kurt asked.

Blaine shrugged. "I... I don't know. I thought it was a good idea, and now... It's probably silly, you'll laugh, I'm sure."

"Hey," Kurt said, and waited till the boy met his eyes again. "Just show me, and then we'll see if it's silly or not."

Blaine nodded "Right," he said, "yeah, let's... It's not here, though, we have to walk for a bit."

Kurt frowned, even as he followed. "Why didn't we meet there?"

The boy shrugged. "I wanted it to be a surprise. Although now that I think about it, you're gonna see the place anyway before we go in, so..."

"It's okay," Kurt said quickly. The shyness had been adorable, but the insecurity worried him.

Eventually, Blaine slowed down and came to a stop in front of a large building that Kurt hadn't paid much attention to before. At the second glance, Kurt recognized it as the local movie theater.

"Blaine? You're not actually taking me to see a movie, are you?" he asked sarcastically. Of course, they were going to the movies, and maybe later they could share a milk shake and make out on the backseat of Cooper's car...

He regretted the tone when he saw Blaine's face fall.

"Wait, are you?"

Blaine looked away. "So it probably _was_ a stupid idea," he admitted.

Kurt blinked, not sure he understood what exactly was happening. He couldn't deny a warm feeling spreading through him. Nobody had ever invited him to something. He just didn't know where this was coming from.

"It's not a regular movie, I promise," Blaine said. "But I got tickets for the Imax tonight. They have a special feature, and when I heard about it I thought this might be something you would want to see. Or maybe I shouldn't have watched Interview with the Vampire the other night, okay, but... give it a try? Please?"

He hadn't needed the please, really. "Lead the way then," he said.

Kurt had been at the movies before, of course. It was a form of entertainment that didn't clash with his nocturnal activity, and nights could be very long and very boring when one lived in a vault. But it had been some time since he had been there, and he'd never been in company. He also had never been to a 3D movie. He had seen some 3D movies but none of them had seemed that special to him.

When they entered the auditorium, Kurt noticed that it was much less visited than other movies he'd been to. Maybe that should be a warning about the quality of the movie, but he was glad about it. He didn't like big crowds on his best nights.

Blaine found their places with some distance to other guests, another thing that Kurt was happy about, and gave Kurt a pair of glasses. Their timing couldn't have been better, as they hadn't been sitting more than a few minutes, when the curtains were drawn open and the movie began. Blaine quickly put up his glasses, and Kurt followed his example. He looked at the screen – and at the fiery image of what couldn't be anything but the sun. As the light filled the screen, he could hear a man's voice with a British accent start to talk.

"We see it every day, and even at night, it's still there, lighting our way via the moon. It's the source of light and warmth, and the point our planet revolves around. But what do we really know about... the sun?"

The words "The Sun" appeared in dark writing over the picture, and Kurt realized what movie they were seeing.

"A documentary?" he asked, not even trying to keep the smile out of his face.

"Just... watch it. It's supposed to be really good," Blaine whispered back.

Kurt nodded, leaned back into the chair, and let the images wash over him, hardly listening to the commentary as he allowed himself to just enjoy to see what he hadn't seen in so long.

* * *

Kurt couldn't have said, how long the movie had run. All he knew was that at some point the curtains fell and it was over. On some level, he noticed the people around them getting up, some of them chatting as they left the auditorium. But he couldn't move, too stunned from the spectacle he had just watched. It had been decades since he had seen the sun – almost a century, really, although he didn't remember all those years. Movies so far hadn't been able to recreate it properly. Well, he hadn't paid attention before.

But this...

"Kurt?"

Blaine's voice was soft, and the hand he put on Kurt's thigh was careful, and yet it grounded him in a way he couldn't describe.

"Are you alright?" Blaine asked.

All Kurt could do was nod. He couldn't say what it had felt like to be so close to the day again. It had brought up memories he had thought long buried. It was too much. If he had any tears he would be crying now, but even so he felt raw. And Blaine, kind, wonderful Blaine, took his hand and squeezed it softly, as if to say that he understood, and that it was okay.

"We have to go," Blaine said softly after what could have been a minute or could have been an eternity. Still, Kurt didn't have enough energy to do more than nod and follow as Blaine took his hand to pull him to his feet. Somehow, they walked out, and all the time, Blaine didn't let go of his hand, just held it, warm and soft and alive. Outside, they stopped close to the door, waiting for the last few other guests to leave. Kurt closed his eyes, not wanting to see the night around him when he had just gotten the chance to see the sun again after so long.

"Was this okay?" Blaine asked. "I wanted this to be something good for you."

"You have no idea," Kurt said, "this was the most amazing thing I've seen in ages." He opened his eyes, smiling at the boy in front of him. "Thank you," he said, trying to put all of his emotion into those two words.

Blaine looked up to him, his smile radiant. "Happy birthday, Kurt," he said, hardly above a whisper.

Kurt stared at him, unable to grasp just how this evening had happened. It had been a throw-away comment, and somehow Blaine had not only remembered but had tried to give him something unique, something beautiful that he hadn't seen in decades, something he missed more than he even realized before. And just by caring so much, Blaine had made him feel more than he thought he was capable of.

He put a hand against Blaine's cheek, softly stroking over his skin. The boy's eyes widened, his brow furrowed as if he was trying to figure something out. Kurt found himself bowing forward, knocking their foreheads together, and then he closed the space between them, placing his lips on Blaine's.

For a second, the boy froze. Kurt moved his lips over his, letting his tongue dart over them to catch the taste. After a moment, Blaine's lips opened under his, and he started kissing back.

There hadn't been many kisses in Kurt's past – at least not many that he remembered clearly, but none had been with a moral since he had become a vampire. He liked kissing itself well enough, but this... His lips were on Blaine's, his tongue invading the boy's mouth, licking and tasting where the blood was so close beneath the surface. It was one step removed from actually tasting it, but just removed enough that it was almost insufferable teasing...

It had been nothing like this the last time. While that had been good, even Blaine's taste had been covered... but it hadn't been real, that time. This... This was...

Kurt pulled back enough to get away from the taste, tried to get a chance to clear his head. Blaine's breath blew over his lips in hurried gasps, as he stared at him wide-eyed, probably at least as surprised as Kurt felt himself about his actions. And then, Blaine was surging forward, sealing their lips together with more force than before. Kurt's teeth caught his lips, and as Blaine kissed him, he could taste just a few drops of blood... and he was gone. It was only a little bit, just enough to kindle the fire. The kiss got fiercer, more passionate. Blaine's arms were around him, and he pulled the boy closer against himself, reveling in the feeling of him, and god, the taste, the one he hadn't been able to forget and hadn't expected to ever experience again, and now it was right here...

The boy was starting to pull away, but Kurt couldn't stand the idea of losing his contact. He put a hand onto the boy's head, holding him close to himself, and ravishing his mouth. There was no way he'd let go...

But the boy started to push him away, getting more frantic as he realized that he didn't actually have the strength to fight off a vampire. This was a familiar situation, holding onto the taste against a struggling body, and...

This was Blaine, who was sweet and kind and had given Kurt something amazing. It was Blaine who Kurt couldn't stop thinking about, and who was now thrashing in his arms, panicking, desperate...

Kurt let go and stepped back, horrified with himself and what he had done. He hardly dared to look up at the boy- no, Blaine, who was...

Gasping for air, but smiling, almost laughing. "Air," he gasped, "some of us need to breathe, remember?"

"Right," Kurt said, observing Blaine carefully for the slightest sign of being traumatized. But he only took deep breaths, and looked up to Kurt with an expression he couldn't quite place. Shyness was there, surprise, a hint of happiness...

"Sorry," Blaine said, although Kurt had no idea what he should be apologizing for.

He definitely knew what he himself should be apologizing for.

"W-where did that come from?" Blaine asked softly.

He couldn't stay. "I have to go," Kurt gritted out.

He could see Blaine's face fall, the frown appearing on his face, and how he opened his mouth to protest, but then Kurt had turned away and hurried away. He wasn't worried about Blaine following, he could never keep up with vampire speed. It was better for the boy, anyway. He was too open, too trusting, and Kurt... Clearly, Kurt couldn't be trusted around him.

He had hoped that by the time he'd arrived, he might have calmed down at least a little bit, but by the time he had come to his refuge, he was still as high strung as he'd been before. Blaine's taste filled his mouth as well as his mind, he could feel the boy's presence burn inside his veins, run through him like an electric current. Even back then, that time when he had not only tasted but actually drank his blood, Blaine hadn't occupied his thoughts, his mind this much. He hadn't been this obsessed last time, although there had been enough going on to keep his mind occupied. But now... He could see Blaine's face every time he blinked, could almost feel what it had been like to hold him. It was overwhelming, intoxicating...

And wrong, so wrong. Kurt was a monster, not even human. He couldn't even remember how many peoples he had killed, how many lives he had destroyed... Even now, as he had kissed the boy he actually cared about, the blood lust had overwhelmed him. On the forefront of his mind wasn't the kiss, but the taste of blood. How easy would it have been to lose control completely? And then...

Another image of Blaine sprang to his mind, the one he had been trying to suppress for months now, the one of Blaine, deadly pale on a stone floor, his own blood pooling around him...

He tried to calm down. After all, the future was uncertain. There was no such thing as definite visions. But he could see it so easily happening. There were so many dangers for Blaine here in Sunnydale. Kurt had been the first of these dangers Blaine had encountered, and if he wasn't careful, he might as well turn out to be the last.

No, Kurt couldn't risk it. He could manage being a friend, though even that was a bit more than he was comfortable with. About those other feelings or wishes he might have...

It wasn't for him. Those were human emotions, and he had given up on that when he had sold away his soul. He wasn't even quite sure what he felt for the boy. But he knew it was too dangerous to try and find out. He couldn't risk t, not if it was literally the boy's life on the line.

The kiss had to be a one-time thing. Well, two time thing. Or technically...

The point was, it would _not_ happen again. He'd talk to the boy soon, make up some excuse or explanation for his behavior, he'd think of something. For now, it was more important to find something that could quench his thirst, flush the taste of Blaine Anderson out of his system. Time to hunt.

* * *

Waking up was a slow process, a gradual awareness of his surroundings, followed by an analysis of his body, state of mind, and mostly thirst. Kurt had never timed it, but going from his feeling it usually took him about half an hour to wake up completely. There was only one thing that could jump start this process.

Intruders in his refuge.

He jolted up the moment he felt the presence inside his crypt. But as he sat, he realized there was no danger, and it wouldn't have taken him too long anyway to identify the intruder. Blaine was sitting on his old designer couch, cross-legged and with some sort of textbook in his lap that he looked up from once he head Kurt sit up.

"Do you have an actual death wish?" Kurt hissed. "Why the hell would you come to the cemetery at night?"

"I came here before sundown," Blaine said with a shrug. "I figured you'd be awake by the time I should start to worry about vampires. And I brought holy water, just in case."

Kurt sighed, shaking his head. "You're insane," he said.

"So I've been told," Blaine said. "I just think we should talk."

"Talk... You risk your life to come here to talk? It couldn't have waited a bit longer?"

"You still don't have a cell phone," Blaine said. "And don't give me the power excuse, you have a refrigerator in here!"

"That's for blood," Kurt said.

"Besides," Blaine said, and now his voice took a more vulnerable tone of voice, "I wanted to talk to you as soon as possible, so I wouldn't just... you know. Chicken out."

Kurt frowned. It was something he had noticed, how Blaine always underestimated his own courage... But this was not what he wanted to bring up right now.

"I really believe it could have waited," he said, "but fine. I assume this is about last night?"

"Of course it is," Blaine said.

"I do owe you an apology for that," Kurt said.

The hint of a frown appeared on the boy's face. "What for?"

"You did something very kind for me, and my reaction was... less than appropriate," Kurt said, trying to sound neutral and convincing. "It was overwhelming, seeing the sun again. It was... so much more than I could remember before. It was intense, and I lost control. I'm very sorry, and it's not going to happen again."

Blaine tried to laugh it off, but there was too much tension in him. "I'm not sure you were paying attention, but it really wasn't bad."

"It wasn't, Kurt admitted. He had to get a grip on himself so the boy wouldn't see just how much it had affected him. "I just don't want there to be any misunderstandings..."

"So... what was I supposed to understand?" Blaine asked. Now his expression, too, was carefully guarded.

"You showed me something I've been missing out on for years. It just reminded me of other things I haven't seen, or felt, or done in a long time. I was just overwhelmed with it. That wasn't even about you. I was just... reminded."

"Of who?" Blaine asked, his voice just the tiniest bit of sharp

That was not what Kurt had been trying to say, but if it would get the message across faster, it couldn't harm.

"Somebody I knew a long time ago," Kurt lied, "he's long gone."

"Oh."

To Kurt's surprise, the boy actually looked unhappy about this. "So.. I guess I was just conveniently close?" he asked.

Kurt sighed. "As I said, I was overwhelmed. I forgot where I was, or who I was with. If I had thought about it a bit more, I wouldn't have..."

"Yeah, I get it, you can stop talking now," Blaine said.

He sounded... irritated, maybe even hurt. But no, the pain had to be something he was imagining. Maybe the boy's pride was wounded, but he couldn't possibly be upset, or have wished for that kiss to mean what it actually meant...

And was that a flicker of hope Kurt felt inside his heart? There was an impulse, to take it back, to lay himself open. He hadn't been let anyone in since... he couldn't even remember. This was a chance to do it, to be brave, and...

The mere idea was terrifying.

"I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea," Kurt said instead. "I do like you, but... not like that. Can you imagine that? A vampire and the slayer's kid brother..."

For a second, Blaine's eyes widened, but then his face closed off, keeping a polite but not very convincing smile. "Cooper would have freaked out," he said. "Besides, I never even got this whole vampire kink thing anyway. No offense..."

"None taken," Kurt said. He tried to smile, but it was probably as believable as Blaine's. "So... was there anything else we should discuss?"

Blaine shook his head. "No, now that all misunderstandings have been cleared..." The boy looked away, his hand coming up to run through his hair in that nervous gesture again. "I, um... I guess I'll go home then."

"I'll take you," Kurt said. "Seriously, you can't run around the cemetery. You need to find a better way to contact me."

Usually, this was the point where Blaine would tell him to get a cell phone, but right now, he wasn't reacting to it.

He'd get over it, though. It wasn't as if the boy had actually been expecting more, and even if he did, it wouldn't change a thing about the situation. Kurt could not get involved with the boy, it was too dangerous. He was doing the right thing here. It was something to be proud of.

And yet, as they walked through the cemetery, Kurt couldn't help but wonder, if this was doing the right thing – why did it feel like cowardice?


	3. All That Glitters, Part I

_**Summary** : Another day in Sunnydale turns to chaos when Blaine finds an unexpected visitor on the Andersons' door step. But a mysterious new pet isn't all he has to deal with - it's competing with a suddenly inquisitive brother, an exasparating kinda-sorta-crush, and absolutely everybody around him losing their mind.  
In conclusion - another day in Sunnydale._

 _Notes: The story takes place about two weeks after Here Comes The Sun. And to (hopefully) avoid confusion, here a small note: Quinn used to be part of the Scoobie gang but left Sunnydale due to personal reasons. Now on with the story._

 _Cooper, the Vampire Slayer_

 **All That Glitters, Part I**

Blaine took a last look into the mirrror to check his appearance – his hair, especially, was just a horror to manage in the hot climate in Sunnydale, even compared with what he had gotten used to in Ohio. He nodded to himself shortly, picked up his messenger back, and left his room. Walking down the stairs, he could hear Cooper's voice coming from the living room. Curiously, he looked into the living room, where he could see Cooper sitting at their dining table, a laptop and a legal pad in front of him, and he was cursing softly. As Blaine approached, his brother crumpled a piece of paper into a ball and threw it behind him. It wasn't the only one, either. On a first survey, Blaine counted to a dozen paper balls.

With a frown, Blaine stepped to the table.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Cooper looked up, a bit surprised about the approach. "Welll... I'm _trying_ to work on my next novel."

"Another one from that science fiction series?" Blaine asked, trying not to sound too interested.

"Oh god, no," Cooper said, shuddering. "I need a break from _that_ drama. This is about the female monster hunter and that werewolf tribe."

"Ah, that one," Blaine said, and he was starting to get a bad feeling about what direction this was going in. "The pretty blonde former cheerleader who tried to turn her back to hunting but gets sucked in again... What was her name again?"

"Lucy," Cooper answered. He almost managed to look okay while saying it, but Blaine knew him better than that.

"Right, Lucy," Blaine said, nodding. "Wasn't that Quinn's middle name?"

"No, it wasn't," Cooper snapped, turnin back to his laptop. "It's her first name," he muttered.

"Sorry," Blaine said. "Um... so what's the problem with the story?"

Cooper sighed, throwing up his hands. "It's not working," he said. "The romance, it's just... I can't get it to work. Why would she fall in love with a werewolf? Why would a werewolf stop killing? It's not like it's a rational choice for them, they're just completely wild once per month."

"You don't have to portrait them completely realistically," Blaine said, "maybe these werewolves can learn to control it?"

"They're still killers. I don't know what she'd be seeing in them!"

Blaine's first instinct was to remind him that _Quinn_ hadn't left to date werewolves, but he didn't want to upset Cooper more than was necessary. Instead, he bowed down to pick up one of the rolled up balls. Maybe there was a way he could help... But once he had straightened it out, he looked up at Cooper sceptically.

"Cooper? This is just empty paper."

Cooper looked up at him as if he was very slow at the moment. "Of course it is. You know I'm working on my laptop. Why would I write anything down on paper?"

"So... you just crumple empty sheets? Why?"

Cooper sighed. "Writing 101, Blaine. If you don't get anywhere, you throw around balled up paper sheets. It's what you do. Have you never seen a movie with a writer in it?"

Blaine looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Riiight, that makes sense," he said, deciding not to fight this particular battle. "So if it bothers you so much, then why don't you have her end up with someone else?"

"The romance is integral to the plot," Cooper said, "and what kind of person could I bring in that would be better for her to date?"

"How about another monster hunter? Maybe her ex-boyfriend who taught her everything and whom she left out of circumstances, not because she didn't love him anymore?"

Cooper was quiet for a moment, before he sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Wouldn't work with the story," he said, "and it would take away from the message of her being the empowered one. Besides, I fucking hate love triangles."

"You're a paranormal romance writer, I think love triangles are the basis of your job," Blaine said. "And you have one in the science fiction series... and the vampire series... and the angel series..."

"That doesn't mean I like them," Cooper said.

"You could have her end up on her own. Let her see in the end that the werewolf isn't as good as he pretended to be, let her defeat him and go on with her life with some important lessons learned."

Cooper sighed in even more exasperation. "It's a romance novel, Blaine!"

Now it was Blaine who started to feel uneasy. "Just because it's romance doesn't mean it has to have a happy end," he said. "Anyway, I'll leave you to it. I have a study group."

He turned around and was halfway to the door, when Cooper stopped him.

"Wait. Who's the guy?"

Blaine froze for a second, before he turned around. "Sam," he said, trying to sound as calm as possible. Cooper was just fishing. "We have a literature class together, and there'll be a test soon."

"Not your study group," he said. "Tell me about the _guy_."

"What guy?" Blaine asked.

"Sit!"

What he should be doing was to wallk out, after all Cooper had no authority over him. Instead, Blaine found himself walking back to the table and sitting down.

"So, the guy. Spill."

"How do you even know there is a guy?" Blaine asked, slightly exasparated.

Cooper rolled his eyes. "I'm a romance writer, Blaine. I have an eye for these things. And you've been sulking for two weeks, not to mention that you've been weird for a few weeks before that. I think it's time we have a talk."

"Do we have to?" Blaine asked.

Cooper's slightly triumphing look turned more serious. "You know you can talk to me about this, right?" he asked. "Look, I know I haven't exactly been a stellar brother to you..."

"You're doing a great job," Blaine said, "you're putting me through college! That's pretty great."

Cooper rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. I wasn't there for you for a lot of occasions when I know you could have needed my support. I wasn't there when you came out. I didn't help you with our parents when you were in school, I didn't even manage to stand up for you when they cut you off... And that whole Dalton mess..."

"It wasn't a mess, I just changed schools. People do that all the time," Blaaine said.

"I still think you should have stayed there," Cooper said, "I get that it would have been hard for you with all the reminders, but it would have been better for you. It was a great school, and you always sounded so happy when you were talking about the warblers and your friends there. Was it really worth getting away from there and going to that backwater hick town instead?"

Blaine frowned. This wasn't a subject he wanted to talk about _ever_ , but it sounded like his brother had fundamentally misunderstood something. "Cooper... Leaving Dalton wasn't my choice," he said. "It was something the principal agreed on with our parents, said it would keep the scandal small. They basically kicked me out."

"What?" Cooper stared at him as if he'd been hit. "And our parents allowed that?"

Blaine shrugged. "Well, they thought I was an embarrassment, and maybe going back to a 'real' school would teach me to behave."

"Dad said that?" Cooper asked.

"Don't tell me you're surprised."

Cooper looked actually distressed now. "But you hadn't done anything wrong. You hadn't done _anything_ , it was that guy," he said.

Blaine rolled his eyes. This was the part of the conversation he was used to, "I was legal, I knew what I was doing, and I was just as involved as he was."

"He was a _teacher_!"

Blaine sighed. "We've been over this, Cooper, and I really don't want to talk about it."

"But... don't you think we kind of _need_ to talk about this?" Cooper asked.

"It was seven years ago," Blaine said. "Let it go. _Please._ "

For a moment he thought Cooper would insist, but then he nodded. "Okay, yes, I'm sorry," he said softly, as if he had upset Blaine and was trying to calm him down again. "I don't want to bother you with it. Just... if you do want to talk, you know that I'm here, right? And that I'm on your side?"

Blaine managed a small smile. "I know. Thank you. But I should go now, Sam's waiting."

"We haven't talked about the guy yet," Cooper said.

Blaine sighed. "Cooper, there's not much to tell. Yes, there is a guy, but nothing's going to happen with him, so I don't really see why we need to talk about it."

"Then why are you sulking?" Cooper asked.

"Well... it's nothing, really," Blaine said. At least he had spent the last two weeks trying to tell himself that.

Cooper looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "It's _not_ nothing. It upsets you."

Blaine looked at him in surprise, but eventuallly, he nodded. "It does," he admitted. "Alright, the guy... There's not much to say. We're friends. Close friends, I think. And it's... it's stupid, really. I never even thought about him like this. He's not exactly the kind of person I could see myself with..."

"Why's that?" Cooper asked.

Blaine shrugged. "He's not my usual type," he said. It wasn't exactly true, but if your brother was the slayer, the last thing you would dare to say was that you were well on your way to falling in love with a vampire.

Cooper clearly wasn't convinced, but he didn't insist on the point. "So when did you start thinking of him like this?"

"He... did something that made me believe that he liked me," Blaine said, hoping he could use Cooper's guilt over their previous conversation to get out of providing more details. "It kind of threw me off, actually. As I said, I didn't see him that way. But then I spent a whole day just... obsessing over it. When he kissed me, it just... it kind of opened a floodgate. So I was thinking for hours, do I like him? Do I want to be with him? Is this something I can see myself doing? And it's... I don't know."

"So what conclusion did you come to?" Cooper asked.

Blaine just managed to stop himself from running a hand through his hair, which would have ruined it again. "I... I thought I'd try. You know, being with him. I knew already that I cared about him, and I thought... maybe it could be worth it, to see if it could work."

"I sense a but coming..."

Blaine grinned, although there was little humor in it. " _But..._ when I saw him again, he didn't even let me get to that point, and just told me flat out that he wasn't actually interested. He'd been... upset at the time, and I reminded him of someone... oh, and apparently he sees me as just a kid."

Cooper's eyebrows rose. "Wait, how old did you say he was?"

Blaine sighed. "Can we not?"

"Right, right, sorry," Cooper said. "So... what now?"

"Nothing, as I said. He isn't interested, and I'll just have to get over it. It's okay, though, I'll live. Not much happened, anyway. I'll be fine – nothing hurt but my ego."

"You are going to be fine," Cooper said. "I get it, this must really suck. But... you're going to be okay. And hey, if he can't see you're awesome, then screw him. Well, don't screw him in this case. I mean... you know what I mean, right?"

"I do," Blaine said.

"And besides... sooner or later, you are going to find somebody. And I promise, he will be nothing like you pictured him. But that will make it much better, that will make it real. Maybe he's the last person you ever pictured yourself with. But he'll be right for you, and he'll be worth the wait."

Blaine blinked. This was surprisingly deep for Cooper, and he couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat. His thoughts went to Kurt, who so far actually matched what Cooper said – someone he could have never seen coming, and yet...

But it was pointless. Kurt didn't see him that way. The guys he fell in love with never did. And the ones that fell in love with him... Well, that was a completely different disaster area.

"So... are we good?" Blaine asked.

"We're great," Cooper said, raising his hand. Blaine could just so step back before it reached his hair.

"Don't do that," Blaine said.

"Oh come on," Cooper said, rolling his eyes. "I'm your brother, I'm allowed to mess up your hair."

"You are _so_ not," Blaine said, huffing. "I take it back, you're a horrible brother."

"Keep talking, pip-squeak, and I'll make you actually earn your living around here," Cooper said, winking at him. "Now go, Sam's waiting."

Blaine grinned. "Good luck with your romance," he said, before turning to leave..

As he walked to the door, he noticed to his surprise that he felt calmer than before. For some reason, the conversation had really helped him. This was probably the best thing about Cooper, he always managed to surprise.

Still in thought, Blaine opened the front door – and stopped in his tracks. He looked down, not sure if he was actually seeing what he thought he was seeing. He then decided it couldn't be, so he stepped back, shut the door again, closed his eyes and counted to ten. Afterwards, he looked outside again. The picture hadn't changed. Huge eyes of dark silver looked up at him, surrounded by white, and above them...

Disbelieving, Blaine put out his hand, only to touch soft fur. They eyes closed, and the head moved against his hand. Unsure, Blaine petted the fur.

So, another day in Sunnydale.

Slowly, he turned around, not failing to notice the tapping sound following behind him.

Cooper was just busy crumpling up another piece of paper. "Please tell me you came back to tell me the perfect idea to solve this," he said without looking up.

"A unicorn," Blaine said.

Cooper shook his head. "No, unicorns don't fit in there at all," he said. "Werewolves and unicorns? I don't see it.""

"No... Cooper... Look."

With a sigh, Cooper turned around. When he saw the creature that had followed after Blaine into the room, his eyes widened so far that it was almost a miracle they didn't fall out.

"Blaine? What is that?" he asked.

Blaine looked down to what looked like a foal, not much more than three feet in high, and the silver horn protruding from its forehead.

"Well... I think it's a baby unicorn."

* * *

There hadn't been much going on in Sunnydale lately. Of course, there were the usual skirmishes with vampires and the slayer and his little group, but nothing even close to apocalyptic, and nothing that they couldn't handle.

Not that Kurt had been watching them. He really had better things to do with his time. So he might have seen the slayer and his group around a few times, and maybe he had stayed and waited to make sure they didn't get killed. And fine, he may have gotten rid of that one vampire a week ago that had been stalking Blaine and Tina as they were preparing to cast a spell on whatever they'd been hunting at the time (a leprechaun, and where did they even _find_ those things?).

It didn't mean that he cared. And right now, he had just decided to take a walk at night, which he did regularly. Granted, the old duck pond wasn't usually in his path, not since the hag living there had made it clear she didn't particularly appreciate vampire visits... but either way, he was _not_ here because Blaine had walked up to the pond with Santana by his side. And he was definitely not staying close to see what happened just because Blaine had started chanting a summoning to the hag.

Oh, who was he kidding?

Kurt had thought it would make things easier if he kept his distance from Blaine for a while. But so far, it hadn't done anything but turn him into a stalker. Watching Blaine from afar hadn't helped Kurt the least to stop thinking about him. It might even be worse now.

Maybe what he needed was complete distance. He could try to stay away completely. But he couldn't stop worrying. Blaine was so human, so fragile, and this was Sunnydale – probably the most dangerous town on this damn continent. It wasn't as if Kurt hadn't tried, but he couldn't stay here with Blaine roaming the streets of Sunnydale and not be worried. Besides, he had tried getting away before, back when he had gone to Ohio for a few months. That, too, had made the issue even worse. It had been months, and he still sometimes saw that vision when he closed his eyes...

Maybe there was something to be learned there... The more he tried to stay away from this boy, the harder he got pulled back. Maybe resistance was simply futile...

"Will you just stop?!"

Kurt looked up in surprise when he heard Santana shouting. He had zoned out completely, but to his relief, he found the two of them still standing in front of the pond, no hag in sight.

"Can you not shout? We don't want people to notice us," Blaine said, casting an annoyed look at Santana.

"Look, that thing clearly doesn't want to talk. Probably because you messed up the summoning. Anyway, she's not showing. So how about you stop wasting my time and leave the hag-summoning to somebody who actually knows what they're doing?"

"I did _not_ mess up the summon," Blaine said. "It's exactly what Tina wrote down for me. It should work. Maybe she just doesn't want to talk to us..."

"I don't really care either way," Santana said. "I want to get out of this muck. If Tina wants to talk to a hag, tell her to get her own lazy ass here."

"Tina's researching," Blaine said, the frown now clear on his face. Kurt, too, was a bit surprised. He knew that Santana had quite a temper, but she seemed to be in an especially bad mood tonight.

"And whose fault is that?" she snapped back. "Oh right, yours, and your damn pet's."

"This is actually important," Blaine said. "And don't tell me you don't want to know what that's about."

"What I want is to get back to my dorm and spend some time with my damn girlfriend," Santana snapped. "I have better things to do than come here and play your babysitter."

"We need that information," Blaine said, "and Cooper is busy."

"Doing what?"

Blaine paused. Eventually he looked away from Santana. "He just _is,_ okay _?_ " he said.

"Where's your vampire then?" Santana asked. "I haven't seen him in a while. What, little lovers' spat there?"

Blaine's head snapped back at her, and for a moment he stared at her incredulously. Eventually, though he shook his head.

"You know what, Santana? You're right. I don't need you here. You should go and see Brittany. Go, spend time with her. Use every day, every minute you've got left before she gets sick of your attitude and returns home. I imagine that's not gonna take too long."

For a second, Kurt feared that Santana would hit him, judging from how furious she looked at Blaine. Instead, her fist hit the tree to her right, before she turned and left without another word.

It was obvious from the way Blaine's shoulders sagged that he hadn't been so sure on how she'd react, either. But that wasn't what had Kurt concerned. He could easily agree that Santana had an attitude problem, and really needed a reality check sometimes. But it wasn't exactly usual behavior for Blaine to be the one to confront her about it, especially not this aggressively.

Something was going on.

Once more, it was a shout that tore Kurt from his thoughts, and this time, it hit him to the core. It was Blaine, shouting from fright. As Kurt looked up again, he found Blaine pushed against the tree, and – of course – a vampire in front of him, holding him against it. Kurt recognized it as a member of that new coven, the one that had thought they could just invade Kurt's territory, just because he was gone for a few months...

"Look what we have here... the slayer's brother," the vampire said.

"Oh, do me a favor and get a new line," Blaine replied, as if he wasn't bothered by it.

"The boss wants you... He's got plans for you," the vampire said. "Big plans..."

Kurt had been about to attack, but he hesitated. Plans... that could become important.

And Blaine seemed to follow the same train of thought. "What kind of plans?"

"You'll learn soon enough," the vampire said.

"Of course," Blaine said, now sounding quite nonchalant. "I wouldn't assume you'd even be told about it. You don't seem important enough."

"I will be, once I bring you back," the vampire hissed.

"Aaand that's my cue," Kurt said, stepping up behind the vampire. It could hardly turn around, before he tore it away from Blaine and threw it to the ground. It was an especially weak vampire, even for that coven of teenagers. Kurt held out his hand in expectation, not even looking back to Blaine to communicate what he needed. It wasn't necessary either, as the next moment he could feel the stake placed into his hand. A few seconds later, only a heap of dust remained of the vampire.

"So much for that," Kurt said to himself, before he turned around.

He hadn't been prepared to see Blaine so close to him, with his cheeks flushed from the adrenaline, his eyes wide and almost black in the darkness, a smile forming on his face. Kurt wasn't sure who had moved first, but then they were hugging. It was supposed to be short, but Kurt found it really hard to let go, especially when Blaine was holding onto him.

Eventually, it was the boy who stepped back. If Kurt had expected any awkwardness, he was to be disappointed. Blaine looked up at him with happiness and relief shining from his eyes.

"You have the best timing _ever_ ," Blaine said.

"Maybe you're just lucky," Kurt replied. "I'm not usually in this area. You know how dangerous Sunnydale is, especially for you, and then you go send away your bodyguard?"

Blaine ducked his head. "You heard that?" he asked.

"Hard not to," Kurt said. "Come on, I'll walk you home, then you can tell me what this was about."

Blaine shrugged. "Santana's been really difficult lately, please don't ask me why. It's really tiring to hear her complain about everything."

For a while, they kept walking in silence, and Kurt felt it slipping into the beginnings of awkwardness. There had to be something they could talk about, so he just tried with the first thing that came to his mind. "So... How have things been?"

A wide grin almost split Blaine's face. "Things have been _great_ ," he said. "You won't believe what happened."

"What happened?" Kurt asked. He was relieved at how happy Blaine sounded. It made him hope that whatever awkwardness the kiss and its aftermath might have caused, had passed over in the weeks of their separation. Even if Blaine had been upset, he had gotten over it by now, and if he wasn't interested in anything more... well, then maybe it would be easier for Kurt to keep his distance again.

"I have a pet baby unicorn."

That was probably on the list of the things he would have least expected to hear tonight. "You what?"

Blaine was still grinning, probably bright enough to light up a sun. "I have a pet baby unicorn," he repeated. "Come on, I'll show you!"

* * *

Kurt recognized the slayer's home, even though it had been a long time since he had been able to enter it – and even that had been very short-lived. His guilt returned, when he thought back on it, and he hurried to fall back in step with Blaine.

"You're not going to invite me in, are you?" he asked.

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Trust me, I'm not making that mistake again," he said, a strict eyebrow raised as a warning. Kurt's eyes fell to the scars on Blaine's throat. They were tiny, probably hardly visible if one didn't know what to look for, but to Kurt they could have been laser points.

"She's in the garden," Blaine said, "come on."

Kurt followed to the garden, where the shack seemed to have been re-modeled into some sort of stable. He stopped, staring at it in disbelief.

"You can't keep a unicorn in a garden, anybody could see," he said. "Even for Sunnydale, that would be a bit conspicuous..."

"We're hiding her," Blaine said. "She's in here, come on."

Blaine walked to the shed, and as Kurt followed, he could see a white creature stepping closer. It turned out to be what looked like a tiny snow white pony, and on its forehead...

"Um.. Blaine? I hate to break this to you... but that's not a baby unicorn. That's a pony with a cardboard cone strapped to its head."

"You mean a foal, Kurt, a pony is a different things," Blaine said. "Also, shut up and watch."

Blaine knelt down beside the pony – or foal – and started to take off the strapped-on horn. As he removed it, Kurt saw that beneath it, there was another horn – this one not made from cardboard, but of a strong, shining material. He caught himself staring. It was indeed a unicorn. A unicorn foal.

"Where did you find it?" Kurt asked.

"She was on my doorstep," Blaine said, stroking over its fur, as the animal nuzzled closer to him. "No note, nothing."

"Wait, I thought they only let virgins close," Kurt said.

Blaine looked up at him with a frown, although it looked just a bit annoyed. "Apparently not," he said, although his voice was completely controlled. "Come on, let's see if she likes you."

Kurt frowned. "I'm a vampire," he said. "You really think a creature of purity would let me get close enough to touch?"

Blaine shrugged. "She doesn't follow usual rules," he said. "She's very sweet with everyone, even Brittany. And you'll be fine. I like you, she'll like you too."

Still dubious, Kurt knelt down beside the boy and reached out his hand, offering it to the foal. It hesitated for a moment, looking like a cat smelling at someone it didn't know. After another pause, it nuzzled against his hand. Surprised, Kurt stroked its fur. It was soft, like touching cotton wool. The unicorn closed its eyes, as if it was happy.

"A unicorn that accepts vampires? That's unusual."

" _She_ is unusual," Blaine said. "And so are you."

Kurt's eyes widened. If his heart was beating, it would speed up at this. But when he looked up at Blaine, the boy seemed completely calm.

"Where did she come from?" Kurt asked.

Blaine shrugged. "We don't know yet," he said. "Tina has been trying to find any magical signatures, but... it hasn't been going so well. You'd think unicorn hair would work amazingly with magic, but so far we've got nothing. So we decided to just take care of her until things are clearer. That's why we went to see the hag, too. We thought she might know something."

"And you disguise the unicorn... as a fake unicorn?"

Blaine shrugged. "It's perfect. I told people that Cooper needed an inspiration for a unicorn novel. He's eccentric enough that they believe it." He took the straps and put the fake horn back on.

"So, what's her name?" Kurt asked.

Blaine looked up in suspicion. "What made you think she came with a name?"

Kurt looked at him with raised eyebrows. "I know you. Of course you named her."

Blaine hesitated, but then he smiled softly. "Amalthea," he said.

Kurt couldn't help a fond smile. "That's a good name."

Blaine lowered his gaze, as a blush formed in his face. "Don't tell anyone else. They'll just laugh."

"Will they?" Kurt asked.

Blaine's eyes clouded, and Kurt felt his worry rise. His former feeling that something was going on here was returning.

"The thing is... it's not just Santana. Everyone has been really stressed lately," he said. "People are getting annoyed, and short-tempered really quickly. Not sure what's going on there." He shrugged then. "But it's alright, I have Almathea to look after. She's keeping me busy while everybody else is being touchy."

"I believe so," Kurt said, petting the unicorn again. "So she's really yours?"

"She likes me best," Blaine said, "maybe because she saw me first. Anyway I'm taking care of her. I think Cooper is quite happy about it. He likes anything that keeps me off the streets."

"You do have a tendency to get into trouble," Kurt said.

"Oh, not you too," Blaine said, although he was smiling, showing that he took it lightly. "So... what have you been up to? I haven't seen you in a while."

Kurt was taken aback at the question, although he really should have expected it. "I do have other things to do than hang around you guys," he said eventually.

Blaine shrugged. "I wasn't doubting you know how to spend your time. It's just... things got a bit awkward the last time we saw each other. I wouldn't want you to think you'd have to stay away because of that. We're friends, and I don't want that to change. And... we're okay, right?"

Kurt found himself nodding. "Of course we are," he said. "Although I was a bit worried..."

"You don't need to be," Blaine said. "Let's just forget it and move on. We are friends, and that isn't going to change. So you don't need to be hiding in your crypt or whatever it is you've been doing... you can come back out and play again."

"I do have other friends, you know?" Kurt said, although he didn't expect the lie to be taken seriously. He usually stayed away from attachments, seeing how badly those had worked out for him so far.

Blaine looked at him with hesitation before he spoke. "Like Sebastian?"

Kurt's hand clenched on instinct, bunching up a bit of the unicorn's fur and making it retreat. Of course that was where this conversation was going... He should have known. "We're not exactly friends," Kurt said, trying not to glare at the boy.

"So... have you heard from him lately?" Blaine asked. His nonchalance was very well played but Kurt could still see through it.

"No," he said, gritting his teeth. "I haven't heard from him since his last visit here. So no change since the last time you asked."

"Oh, right," Blaine said, stroking through the unicorn's fur. From the sound of his voice, he seemed content with the news, although now Kurt wasn't sure if it was real or an even better act. "Well, can't be helped. I'm sure he'll get in contact with you at some point."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Can't wait for it," he said sarcastically.

"Anyway, what about you? Will we see more of you again?" Blaine asked.

"Yes, sure," Kurt said. "I mean... if you have something to do for me...Something I'd be interested in. I don't actually care about your little missions and hunts and whatever."

"Kurt?"

"Hm?"

"You don't have to do your 'I'm cooler than you' act anymore – at least not with me," Blaine said. "You can pretend all you want, but I know that you care."

Kurt looked at him in disbelief. How did this boy do it all the time, finding the words that would just stun him? "Believe what you want," he said, but the words were anything but convincing.

Blaine shook his head in exasperation, although Kurt thought he could see some fondness in there. "Alright, tough guy, as you wish. Now come help me feed my pet baby unicorn."

* * *

"I can't believe we're having to do this," Cooper grumbled, and Blaine could have sworn he saw his brother kick against a fence. "There are no new cases, there's nothing going on at the moment... I don't know what Sue's deal is, why can't we just all mind our own business and meet up again when there's actually something to deal with?"

"Well, there is the unicorn that came out of nowhere," Blaine said.

"It's a baby unicorn. That's not a threat, that's the start of a supernatural petting zoo," Cooper said dismissively.

"I'd like to know where she's from," Blaine said.

"Then go meet up with Tina and see if she found something out already," Cooper said. "No need to drag everybody else into this."

"Why are you so cranky lately?" Blaine asked. "Is this still about the plot of your story? Look, if this part isn't working, then maybe you should just take it out-"

"It's _not_ about the book! It's about Sue – like every other watcher in this goddamn world – believing there is nothing more important in anybody's life than following her every order! All the time it's 'focus on slaying', or 'you're the chosen one', or telling me that I can't have a life. Well, maybe I want one. Has anybody ever thought of that? I get that _you_ have nothing better to do, that it's all some sort of adventure to you, but I'm actually getting a bit tired of this."

Blaine frowned. "You don't have to take this out on me," he said. "You love this, even when you're tired of it. You couldn't stop if you tried."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Cooper said, rolling his eyes. "Can we just get this over with?"

"Sure," Blaine said. He wasn't sure what was going on lately. He wasn't used to Cooper snapping at him like this, but it had happened more and more. It wasn't just Cooper, though...

When they arrived almost everybody was already waiting in Sue's office. Tina was sitting cross legged on the floor, reading in a heavy-looking tome and ignoring everybody else, but from her expression alone Blaine could tell that she wasn't happy to be here. Sam was busy playing with a hand-held, occasionally looking up to where Santana was sitting in Brittany's lap and glaring at the girls. Sue was dressed in her usual red track suit and yelling at someone on her cell phone. There was no trace of Kurt, but Blaine hadn't really expected to see him. He should be fine with this. They had just established that things were okay between them. Kurt didn't need Blaine to start pining for him. Blaine didn't mean to pine anyway. There was no reason, the kiss must have been an anomaly.

The noise of Sue's phone crashing against the window broke him out of his thought. Wide-eyed, he looked around to see what was going on, but apparently Sue had just found a creative new way to end the call. She then turned around to face everybody else.

"Oh, the slayer himself deigns to grace us with his presence. About time! The world can't wait for you to get over your writers' block, you know?"

"The world was doing just fine," Cooper gritted. "And don't try to distract us, what was _that_ all about? What inspection? Who were you talking to?"

Blaine's eyes widened. This sounded serious... maybe he had gotten a bit too distracted, thinking about Kurt... he should really stop doing that.

Sue showed her best vicious glare, which did not only send shivers down everybody's spine but that Blaine had seen intimidate a minor demon lord. "I'm sorry, it seems the trivialities you keep writing about have climbed off the page, and through your ears in that ridiculously spacious brain cavity of yours, taking root in the last bits of functional gray matter you still have at your disposal. I was obviously talking to the Watchers' council."

"They're not going to send somebody here again, are they?" Santana asked.

"I don't mind," Brittany said with a shrug. "They only look to see if the iron is still in and go."

"Well, _I_ mind them being here," Santana snapped. "You may be fine with them wanting to inspect everything and sit in judgment over everybody else, but I'm sick of them prodding me."

"Actually, this time it's about neither of you ladies," Sue said, "this is all thanks to our dear Slayer's stellar performance during the last few crises."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cooper asked.

"It means that you've neglected your task. If you can't handle your little hobby beside your destiny, then maybe you should check your priorities."

"It's not a hobby, it's my _job_!" Cooper said.

"Please, I put down more literary value every day by writing in my diary," Sue said. "As far as your slaying goes, the council hasn't been too thrilled with the last reports, and they're considering to send somebody here for an inspection. And don't look at me like that, do you think I want those bumbling morons messing up everything I built?"

Cooper rolled his eyes. "Gee, I sure hope you didn't anger them by insulting them, belittling them, oh and hanging up mid-sentence by smashing the phone against a window. Can't see that having a negative effect at all!"

"Will you all SHUT UP?!"

Everybody turned around when Tina started yelling. She was still sitting on the ground, but she had stopped reading in the book. "I'm trying to read here! If anybody remembers, a unicorn foal turned up out of nowhere, we don't know why, we don't know if its mother is around... but apparently I'm the only person who cares about finding out something about that!"

"I care," Blaine said, his own annoyance growing.

"Sure, Blaine," Tina huffed, "you care about everything. Doesn't change the fact that I don't see you researching with me!"

"Excuse me? I offered, and you literally kicked me out of your room," Blaine said.

"He's right, you're _scary_ when you're researching. I wouldn't even dare to go near your room when you get like that," Sam said. "Is this some PMS thing or-"

"Ex _cuse_ me?!"

Sam blanched at the twin glare he got from both Tina and Santana, while Brittany seemed to have gotten awfully distracted by a fly sitting on the wall. Blaine just wanted to gently remind Sam to try and be more tactful, when he saw the faery smash the fly with her bare palm.

"What are you doing?" Santana asked.

"It was in my space and I didn't like it," Brittany said, glaring at the spot where the fly had been – ignoring the tiny cracks that had appeared in the wall.

"Well, Santana, I have a suggestion for you," Sue said. "Maybe as a semi-slayer you could actually manage to keep a better grip on your pet and make sure she doesn't destroy my office?"

"That's my girlfriend you're talking about!" Santana snapped.

"I'm sorry, did I miss some miracle that turned her into a real girl?" Sue asked. "As far as I'm concerned, she's a loan from the faery queen – not that we'd asked for it, but I'm not going up against her again."

"Right, cause you were so successful the first time," Cooper said rolling his eyes.

"Um... do we have to be here for this?" Sam asked.

"Good question," Blaine muttered.

"Technically, I don't need any of you here, except Anderson the elder. I don't even know what the rest of you are doing here."

"It's because we're a team," Blaine said. "And the part about the inspection is important to all of us."

"Well, thank you, Mr. Narrator," Santana said, "what would we ever do without you?"

"You don't need to be so mean to everybody," Sam said, "seriously, what is your problem? I really thought once you got a girlfriend you would stop being such a raging bitch, but actually I'm starting to think you're getting worse!"

"Well maybe if you could stop mooning over said girlfriend, I didn't have to!" Santana shouted back.

Brittany looked up, her expression much too happy. "You think he likes me?"

Blaine held his breath, but Santana seemed so taken aback that she didn't even yell at anyone.

"We could have a movie night, all three of us," Brittany added.

Sam now looked completely terrified.

"You know what? I'm done with his."

They all looked to Tina, as she gathered her book in her arms and got up.

"You're wasting not only my time but also all of yours. What are you even doing? We're supposed to save the world, you people have so many talents, and you just don't do a damn thing! I'm sick of you – all of you! Just think what I could get done if I wasn't always weighed down by your ridiculous squabbles? Just... UGH!"

She rushed out of the door, slamming it behind her.

Blaine couldn't help but feel relieved that at least her dramatic exit had ended whatever disaster had started to brew between Santana, Brittany and Sam...

"Well, _that_ was unnecessarily diva," Cooper said, as he looked after her with a frown.

"Speaking of diva," Sue started.

"You know what? I think Tina had the right idea," Cooper said. "Come on, Blaine, we're leaving. And you!" He turned to Sue. "You can call me when you calmed down from whatever ridiculous power trip you're on now."

He was half out the door by the time Blaine had gotten with the program and started following him. He looked back at his friends, seeing that everybody else was getting up, too.

He didn't like it. Things had become so tense between them, when they should work as a team... Maybe they were just spending too much time together, though. It could be good for them if they had some time apart to focus on something else, especially now when things were so quiet apart from the unicorn foal.

At least he hoped so.

* * *

Blaine knew that it was dangerous running around Sunnydale at night, at least on his own. But he had to get out, get away from his brother and his so-called friends right now. What he had wanted to do was to stay with Amalthea, just take care of her, and forget what was going on. But there _was_ something going on, which was always a bad sign in Sunnydale, and right now, his brother didn't seem up for the task – whatever it might be. No matter how much Blaine wanted to hide from it, he had taken responsibility here. He couldn't indulge in escapism, he needed to do something. And the first step for that was to find the allies he still had. He hoped whatever had affected his brother and friends hadn't taken hold of Kurt, too.

The closer he got to the cemetery, the more worried he got. He didn't visit Kurt very often at his refuge. The old ground-keeper's house was probably the safest corner there was... but it was still close enough to the rest of the vampires living in the cemetery, and Blaine was aware how dangerous that was for a human. It was the reason he only came here alone during the day. But this was an emergency. He just hoped that he would get to Kurt before any other vampire came across him...

The small cabin was almost in sight when he heard the sounds of a fight, accompanied by hissing that could only come from vampires.

He shouldn't be here. He should turn around, stay with Amalthea and make sure she was safe, not stay here and get killed by vampires...

But there was a shout, and he recognized Kurt's voice.

The thoughts about his unicorn disappeared, as Blaine started to run without another conscious thought. Now, even with his weak human eyes, he could see that Kurt was fighting three other vampires. They had to be young, they were way too slow to deal with Kurt, but it was still three to one. Blaine took hold of one of the stakes he always carried with him on Cooper's insistence. He knew that he wasn't a match for even one young vampire, but he was sure he could help at least with a surprise attack – at least enough for Kurt to finish the fight.

As he approached, he could see Kurt getting a hold of one of the younger vampires. He held the creature close and turned, using the vampire to kick the other two and get them to a safe distance, and then he tore the head of. Blaine flinched at the sound, then watched the vampire crumble to dust. One of the younger vampires turned around and ran, the last lunged at Kurt. There was some fighting, and Blaine hurried to approach. As Kurt held the thing in a lock, Blaine jumped forward and plunged the stake into the creature's heart. There was a scream, and then it too, fell together into a pile of dust.

Blaine looked up, grinning at Kurt. He had hardly done anything, but the fight had worked out really well. But there was something off in the way Kurt looked back at him. Blaine would have expected happiness, or maybe annoyance, or okay, some exasperation... but Kurt looked at him with rage waving off him. On instinct, Blaine stepped back slowly as if from a wild animal.

The next second, Kurt lunged at him, throwing him against the nearest tree, gripping his shoulders and glaring at him.

Blaine gasped, staring at him in terror. Usually, when they were close, he felt drawn to Kurt's eyes, but right now he saw nothing but the vampire fangs.

"What is _wrong_ with you!?" Kurt hissed. "You do NOT come to the cemetery at night, you do NOT interrupt a fight between vampires! Haven't you learned anything in your time here? Do you want to die, is that it? Or do you just enjoy having me or your brother worried _sick_ about you!?"

Blaine stared at him, not quite understanding what was going on. Kurt was glaring at him full of fury, gripping his shoulders so hard that they were hurting... but the words were of concern, not threatening.

"You _always_ do that," Kurt shouted, "do you have any idea how sick of this I am? I was _fine_ before I met you. And now you keep getting yourself into trouble and I have to get you out again. I can't sleep sometimes, thinking what kind of trouble you're in when I wake. But do you care? Of course you don't!"

"Will you calm down?" Blaine asked, trying not to show how scared he was. "And let go, you're hurting me."

"You think this is me hurting you?" Kurt shot back. "You have no idea what I could do to you, have you? How I could make you scream? But you don't care for that either... You run around like you're invincible, and it's pissing me off."

Kurt's claws were starting to protrude, and Blaine knew that they were right now piercing the fabric of his shirt and the skin beneath. The fear was bubbling up inside him, too strong to hide. Kurt was acting so strange, and what would happen if the smell of blood was added?

But as he finally looked up into Kurt's eyes, Blaine noticed something else.

"Be still", he said, and ignoring the anger, the fear and the pain in his shoulders, he reached out with his hand for Kurt's left eye. The vampire moved back, but he couldn't get more distance between them without letting go of Blaine's shoulders, which he seemed incapable of.

There was something white, almost like a sting, coming right through Kurt's lower lid. Blaine pinched his fingers, got hold of it, and then he pulled.

Kurt flinched, but the anger that had been waving off him, started to fade, replaced by confusion.

Now that Blaine knew what to look for, he could see another one piercing through Kurt's upper lip, and as he turned, there was one more in his right hand near his thumb. Blaine used the moment of Kurt's confusion and pulled out those stings as well.

"How do you feel?" he asked softly.

Kurt looked at him in confusion, but slowly, he seemed to get back to reality. "I... I don't know," he said, "I've... I've been so angry... that's why I picked a fight with those morons..."

"You attacked them?" Blaine asked. "I can't believe you call _me_ careless. You realize they're only looking for a good excuse to attack you, right?"

Kurt snorted. "I think I can handle a few of these knuckleheads."

"They outnumber you, Kurt. Even you can't take an infinite number of vampire, even if they're weaker than you," Blaine said. "Do you really have to actively provoke them?"

"I don't usually do that," Kurt said. "I've just felt... strange. It must have been those things, I feel much calmer now. So... what is it?"

Blaine frowned, looking at what he held in his hands. They looked like impossibly thin, white needles. Carefully, he touched his own palm with one of them, but instead of piercing the skin, it just bowed.

"I don't think I've seen something like this before," Kurt said. "What is it?"

But Blaine had seen it before – on his clothes, his hands... Softly, he plucked one of Kurt's hands of his shoulders, and put the thing against his skin. Where on Blaine's hand it had bent, for Kurt it went right into his skin. Even this little was enough for Kurt's muscle to contract, for his whole demeanor to go a bit tense. With a sigh, Blaine pulled it out again and held it in front of his eyes.

"Blaine, what is it?" Kurt asked.

Blaine closed his eyes, leaning back against the tree. "It's hair," he said. His voice sounded as exhausted as he suddenly felt.

"Hair?" Kurt repeated.

"Unicorn hair," Blaine said.

"Are you sure?"

Blaine sighed. "I've seen a lot of it lately," he said, "trust me, I know what it is." He opened his eyes again, to see Kurt frowning at him.

"So... are you saying your baby unicorn has... I don't know, poisoned me with her hair?"

"Not only you," Blaine said. " _Everybody_. They're all fighting each other... Sue and Cooper, Brittany and Santana... everybody is yelling at each other and fighting. I didn't think about it before... but I think it started when Amalthea appeared."

"Why aren't you affected?" Kurt asked. "The... hair, it doesn't work on you."

"I don't know," Blaine said. "I didn't even know something was wrong with her... I don't understand. Do you... do you think it could be a coincidence?"

Kurt looked at him with an expression very akin to pity. "I don't think there are many coincidences in Sunnydale," he said. "Especially not when supernatural creatures are involved." He hesitated, before he continued. "I'm sorry."

Blaine shook his head. "Don't," he said. "Let's just focus on what we do now."

"Has Tina found out anything about unicorns so far?" Kurt asked.

"I... actually don't know," Blaine said, "she wasn't really cooperative the last time I met her... but let me call her."

As Blaine took out his phone, he noticed that Kurt's other hand still rested against his skin, now softly cupping his upper arm. It was a bit cool, even through the fabric, but he found he didn't mind. It felt comforting.

"She's not answering her phone," Blaine said eventually. "But that happens sometimes, especially if she's engrossed in research."

"You kids and your smart phones," Kurt muttered. "I suggest we do this the old-fashioned way."

"And what would that be – grandpa?" Blaine asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "I suggest we pay Miss Cohen-Chang a little visit."


	4. All That Glitters, Part II

_Cooper, the Vampire Slayer_

 **All That Glitters, Part II  
**

The moon threw Sunnydale's streets into a pale light. It was a familiar sight from Cooper's bedroom window, and one that he was well used to. He was just standing there, looking out onto the town he had sworn to protect.

Why Sunnydale? He hadn't grown up here, he had no attachment to his place. And yet, Sunnydale had become his fate. Because he was the slayer, because of destiny, because of the hell mouth... he could never leave this place.

Was it worth it?

All those years ago, when he had started his work as the slayer, he had known that this would be his fate – that this would be his grave. It was really a miracle that he had survived this long. There weren't many fates more lethal than that of the slayer. And he had done lots of good, saved more lives than he could count, defeated monsters and villains, and had prevented an all-out-end-of-the-world apocalypse twice so far. He had saved the world, had done so much good...

And where had it gotten him?

He was still chained to this town, trying to squeeze in as many good deeds as he could before being the slayer would inevitably get him killed. He had lost the first woman he really loved, because she had had the option of a better life and he hadn't been brave enough to follow her. And his brother, the only person in his family he really cared about, felt the need to stay here by his side, probably until one of them died.

It wasn't fair. Why did it have to be him? He had never asked for this, had never wanted these powers. How had he been chosen anyway? All he wanted was to be free, but apparently, that was too much to ask. Hell, it was too much to ask for as much as some time to follow his actual job, at least according to Sue.

It was infuriating. Cooper had always tried to do what's right, to follow the greater good. And where had it gotten him? Stuck in this literal hell-hole, dragging down with him anybody who trusted him and wasn't smart enough to get away fast enough. He was sick of it. He hated Sunnydale, and the monsters, and demons, and vampires... Well, Kurt was alright, most of the time, and useful in looking out for Blaine... but then again, if it wasn't for the whole slayer thing, Blaine wouldn't even need people looking out for him.

If Cooper could just leave this damn place...

But that was impossible. He was the slayer, he couldn't just leave his responsibility. There would always be monsters and demons. Although, of course, sooner or later those were going to kill him and then he couldn't help anybody either. So if he left, then technically, he would just speed along the plan of the universe...or something along those lines.

Sue would never let him get out of here. Of course she wouldn't, she wouldn't even let him have a life. Probably because she didn't have one. She had nobody anyway. Cooper had never seen her with friends or family, she didn't even get along with the Watchers' council. Then again, nobody could honestly get along with those bastards, not the ones Cooper had met as least.

Sue lived for destroying demons, or maybe just for the destroying part. Was that the woman Cooper wanted to run his life?

He thought of Quinn, her sharp wit and quick humor, how she could be soft and gentle, but hard as diamond in the next second. She had been a powerful witch, a great friend, an amazing girlfriend. And now? A wonderful mother, he was sure of it.

And he had let her go.

How stupid had he been, to let go the perfect woman because he couldn't stand up to Sue Sylvester?

He had sacrificed enough for that woman and her ridiculous council. He was done giving up his own dreams and hopes for the future, just because they needed soldiers to die in their war. He was through with them!

...He was through with them.

The thought scared Cooper to the bone, but the anger he had felt rushed through his head at this, burning through him with the certainty that this was the right decision.

He was done with the watchers, he was done with Sue, and he was going to tell her, right now. He'd tell his watcher to get lost, and then he'd be out of here in a heartbeat. Let them find another slayer, let Santana or whoever wanted to take over.

Cooper was done.

* * *

The dorm Tina lived in was one of the older ones on the Sunnydale campus. Most students preferred the more modern dorms, but Tina loved the old building's atmosphere, as well as the luxury of having less company and no room mate. It was also conveniently close to the cemetery, and so it didn't take long for them to reach it. Of course, that brought them to another problem...

"So, just to make sure I got this right – when you said _we_ pay Tina a little visit, you meant to say _I_ do that?"

Kurt shrugged, and didn't even look the least bit uncomfortable. "I can't enter the college dorms, Blaine. What do you expect me to do?"

"I thought you don't need an invitation for public buildings," Blaine said. "Or don't the dorms count for that?"

"They do, technically," Kurt admitted, "but Cooper had Quinn put a spell around them to keep out vampires. It's the same spell that's over your house, actually. So... your on your own here."

"Great," Blaine said, looking at the building as if it was a haunted castle. "I have a bad feeling about this. What if I need your help?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I'll be underneath her window. Just jump out, I'll catch you."

"This isn't funny," Blaine said. "You haven't met Tina when she's angry, have you? She can be scary."

"Scarier than a pissed off vampire?" Kurt asked, arching one of his eyebrows.

Blaine sighed. "Touché," he said. "Alright, I'll see you soon. Try not to be seen, please. You may think Angry Tina isn't scary, but I have a feeling even you don't want to run into Angry Sue."

That at least was enough to pierce through Kurt's cool attitude. Happy enough with this small victory, Blaine turned around and entered the building.

When he had gone to college in New York, he had lived in the dorms himself. There had been much better security (as in, there actually _was_ any security), but this was Sunnydale after all. He couldn't expect too much. And at least it had some supernatural security...

As he made his way through the building, he realized how quiet it was, even for this dorm. But the closer he came to Tina's room, the more Blaine noticed something was... maybe not wrong, but definitely unusual. He could hear weak noises, like the bubbling of boiling water, the hissing of steam, and a low, deep voice. There was a smell, too, that made Blaine shudder. Why did witchcraft come with so many horrible smells?

It was strange, though, for Tina to just brew something in her dorm... she was usually more careful to hide her talent. But then again, nobody was acting rationally lately.

Gathering his courage, Blaine knocked at Tina's door. He waited for a moment, but there was no reaction, just the same noise and chanting there had been before. With a sigh, he knocked again, but there was still no reaction.

Only one thing to do. He opened the door to enter the room.

He wished he hadn't, if only for the smell that hit him. He also had to blink against the vapors filling the room, before he could get a closer look.

Somehow, Tina had managed to put a cauldron on her hot plate. Whatever she was brewing, it produced a thick, purple haze that made everything look unreal. On instinct, Blaine looked up to the ceiling where the fire alarm should have been, but apparently Tina had taken it off.

Speaking of Tina, she was kneeling in front of the cauldron, several thick tomes around her, and smelled whatever she was brewing. Then she scribbled something in a notebook, took something out of a box that Blaine hoped didn't actually still move, and threw it into the cauldron.

"Tina?" he asked. "What are you doing?"

She looked up, her eyes almost as wild as Kurt's had been before, and Blaine could see something thin and white in them, still a stark contrast to her dark eyes.

"What I'm doing?" Tina asked. "What the hell are _you_ doing? I don't remember inviting you in here, Blaine!"

"That's vampires," he said, "I can just come in. And I did knock."

"Right, vampires, and you're the expert on them," Tina huffed. "Does your brother know just how much you care about vampires?"

Blaine carefully stepped closer, trying to peer into the cauldron. He wasn't completely sure, but now that he slowly got over how awful that smell was, it started to seem a bit familiar. He shuddered, looking up at his friend.

"Listen, Tina, we don't have time for this," he said, trying to reason with her. "I know what's going on here..."

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Tina asked. "Everybody's fighting. Do you know how exhausting that is? But I'm just Tina, I'm just the witch who does the research everybody wants, and casts the spells to save everybody in the nick of time, and brews potions, and finds the weak spots and is basically the single reason you morons are still alive. Not that anybody would appreciate it."

"Of course we appreciate it," Blaine said. This was worse than he had imagined.

"Really? I don't think you do!" Tina yelled back. "Because you keep busy with your own struggles, you never focus on what's really important. To your brother, I'm just the less talented, less pretty, less wonderful sequel to Quinn! And you? You go and moon over a vampire, when there's a perfectly lovely girl just waiting for an opportunity to share her love with you!"

Now Blaine really wished he was anywhere but here. "Tina... you don't know what you're talking about," he said. "You're not yourself right now. It's Amalthea, I don't know how, but she's..."

"Oh, sure, you can love a freaking _unicorn_ , and a _vampire_ , but what, a witch is too normal for you?"

"Um... I'm _gay_ , Tina," Blaine said.

"And I'm _pissed_! But guess what, Blaine? I don't need any of you. I don't need Sue to tell me what monsters to fight, I don't need Quinn to be the perfect idol that I could never reach anyway, I don't need Santana to make fun of me, I don't need your brother to be a complete fool while everybody thinks he's a hero. And I don't need you and your goddamn vampire boyfriend. I'm better than this, and when I'm done here, everybody will see!" She turned back to her cauldron and threw in more herbs that Blaine didn't recognize.

What he did start to recognize, though, was the smell of the potion.

"Tina... what is this?" he asked, coming closer. Under the purple haze, he could see a liquid that was almost red as blood.

"This is exactly what I need to become the hero I know I can be," Tina said, throwing more herbs in as she walked around the cauldron in a circle.

A cold shudder ran down Blaine's spine, and he too circled the potion, trying to keep the same distance to the witch. "Tina... is this... is this what they did to Santana?"

"Did to her... They didn't do anything to her, she knew exactly what was going to happen," Tina said. "Once this potion is complete, I will have the powers of the slayer, and I can promises you one thing, Blaine – I will not waste them like your brother and Santana. I will be a slayer the world can be proud of. Strong and smart."

"You can't brew that potion," Blaine said. "That recipe was destrpyed, you can't have remembered that. And it's dark magic. You can't be a hero and use dark magic. And you don't have the devices!"

"End justifies the means, Blaine," Tina said. "And I don't need the device. All I need is the potion, and I saw the recipe back then. With the right magic, you can bring back some of the faintest memories. But you have no reason to be afraid. I'm doing something good here. You should be grateful. Not that I'm expecting you to... But actually, now that I think about it, I'm glad you're here."

"Why's that?"

Her face grew hard and cold as she looked at him, and it made Blaine step backwards – closer to the window now.

"I'm missing an important ingredient for this to work," Tina said.

Blaine gulped. "Essence of a slayer," he said. He remembered that night, how scared he had been for Cooper... "But I'm not a slayer..."

"You're the slayer's brother. It's probably close enough," Tina said.

Blaine took another step back, away from the cauldron and away from his witch friend. "This isn't actually you, Tina," he said. "I know you feel angry, and restless, but there's actually something you can do against it. But first, you have to stop brewing this potion, and calm down."

"Why? Are you afraid that I might actually do something good, unlike the rest of you?" Tina asked. "I'm tired of being a second-tier, Blaine. And this will change tonight." She smiled at him, and it might be the scariest thing he'd seen today – including an angry vampire.

Tina's gaze fell, and Blaine's eyes followed. There was a knife near the cauldron. They both looked up again and their eyes met for a second... then Tina dove for the knife, as Blaine lunged forward to the window. He fiddled too long with the handle, but then it flew open. Blaine wasted a second to look back, to find Tina running at him with the knife drawn. He had to get away. But before he could make a definite choice to jump, Tina was too close. The moon's reflection flashed at him from the knife as she lunged it at him, and on instinct, he moved backwards. He lost his balance, and the next thing he knew he was falling, a scream tearing from his throat, mixing with Tina's voice.

* * *

Santana had always had a tendency to get anxious when she didn't have a plan on what to do. That slight tendency had gotten much worse since she had received her powers. She had sometimes considered asking Cooper if he was dealing with similar problems. But it had become hard to sit still for too long, especially if she had time to think. There were only a few things that calmed her down. One of them was fighting evil, and the other thing was Brittany.

Usually.

Brittany was a revelation, a miracle she never would have believed in. But she had come here from another world, and stayed for Santana's sake. Nobody had ever done that for her. She hadn't been that important to anyone, not even her own family. Having a faery for a girlfriend had helped her so much to come to terms with her own freakish-ness.

That was why it had become harder and harder to realize that this whole world including Santana might not be much more than an extended vacation for Brittany.

She was so restless that she wanted to pace through her dorm. Instead she sat in her armchair, clutching onto Brittany's stuffed Nemo toy as if she wanted to squeeze juice from it.

Not that it impressed Brittany. The faery was staring at a fly crawling over the wall, clearly ignoring Santana's mood.

"What is it with you and insects anyway?" Santana asked, trying to keep the poison out of her voice. It was at least partially successful.

"They're amazing," Brittany said, hardly paying attention. "So tiny... at home, they are huge and we ride on them. I had a pet dragonfly, it got me everywhere. But then it died, or went into a coma or something. I miss him."

"Then why don't you go find a new dragonfly?" Santana asked, now not quite as successful at keeping the anger out of her voice.

Brittany turned and looked at her with a puzzled look on her face. "Did you notice that Sam was totally right?" she asked.

"I don't want to hear that name!", Santana yelled, throwing the toy across the room. It banged against the window, fortunately not breaking it.

"But he is right," Brittany said, ignoring her anger. "They told me how angry you used to be, and since we got together, I thought you were doing better. But lately, you've become just as angry. I don't understand."

"I deserve to be angry!" Santana said. "I never wanted these powers, I had no idea what I was getting into, and now my whole life is screwed up. You are the one good thing that has happened to me, and how long are you even going to stay here? You keep talking about the faery realm, I know it's just a matter of time until you leave me, just like everybody else!"

Brittany tilted her head, the puzzled look now morphing into confusion. "Your family is in Ohio where you left them," she said. "And you have friends who love you just as you are. And me, I do that too. Everybody is just waiting for you. Why are you pushing us away all the time?"

"I'm pushing you away?" Santana asked. "You keep waxing poetics about how much you miss your home, and how much better everything was, and I'm pretty sure that earlier you suggested a threesome with Sam Evans!"

"You never suggest anything," Brittany said. "At least Sam has fun, you're always angry, it's exhausting. My family at home is angry too. Why do you think I wanted to get away from there? But if all you can give me is more of the same, then maybe I shouldn't stay here." For a moment after she finished that sentence, she looked almost scared at her own words.

But even if she didn't mean it, it was exactly what Santana had been waiting for. What else could it be? When had she ever been good enough?

"Well, then what are you waiting for?" Santana asked, her voice filled with ice cold anger. "Get the hell out of my room!"

"I don't want to leave," Brittany said.

Santana didn't want her to leave either, but right now, she couldn't stand a second more of this.

"Fine then, stay," she found herself saying. "Just be gone when I come back!" She was fleeing from the room before she had even made a conscious decision to do so. She had to get away from it all, from Brittany, from her own fear, and from that anger, running like fire through her veins.

She had to get away.

* * *

Kurt had gotten used to waiting during the last decades, but that didn't mean that he liked it. At least this time, there wasn't any actual urgency. Even if Blaine had a bad feeling, this wasn't an emergency. So everybody was a bit irritated and aggressive... but things could be worse. Kurt himself had felt so angry that he had attacked – but even he couldn't bring himself to actually hurt Blaine. He was confident that Tina wouldn't either.

Still, he wandered around the building and waited under what he suspected to be Tina's window. It wasn't hard to find, hers was the only window that seemed to be filled with purple light. If Kurt inhaled, he could actually smell the smoke of whatever she was boiling.

With a sigh, Kurt sat down in the grass of the dorms backyard, preparing himself to wait. Tina probably had some ideas that she and Blaine would go over. Or maybe she would take her research and they'd come out to involve Kurt into the discussion... Either way, he didn't expect anything to happen.

That was, of course, until he heard the sound of a window opening. On instinct, he jumped too his feet and looked up. Of course, it was Tina's window, and then he saw a figure in the window frame.

"Oh no, _please_ don't, I was _joking!_ " But he could already see what was to happen. As Blaine fell from the windowsill, Kurt ran and jumped. Silently, he thanked the demons for vampire reflexes and speed, even as he lost the ground under his feet, and then he snatched the boy right out of his fall.

He landed in a crouch, holding Blaine in his arms. The boy stared at him, breathless and shaking. Before he could even ask what was going on, there was a scream.

"Oh my god, Blaine!"

Kurt whipped his head around. He saw Tina standing at the window, staring down. One hand was clasped over her mouth, the other one was limply holding a knife.

"What the hell?" Kurt asked.

"We should _go_ ," Blaine said.

Kurt wasn't sure what was going on, but he decided not to argue. He held Blaine closer and started to run. They were almost to the other end of the campus until he slowed down again. Carefully, he put Blaine to his feet.

The boy was shaking, and even in the moonlight exceptionally pale. Kurt kept a hand on his hip to keep him steady, and maybe just slightly because he wanted to keep contact.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Um.. Tina isn't going to help us, she's kind of trying to become the next slayer," Blaine said. "Well, kind of a slayer... like Santana. She's brewing the potion, and she figured I could stand in for the slayer whose powers she wants to absorb."

Kurt frowned. "I don't mean to offend you... but you don't have any powers, and you're not a slayer, just the brother of one. I don't think it works like that."

"Well, I'm not going back there to find out," Blaine said. "By the way... thank you."

Kurt looked him over more closely, to make sure Blaine was actually alright. He didn't seem to be injured, but of course like most people he was a bit distressed that his friend had attacked him, and he had fallen out of a third floor window.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked.

Blaine hesitated, but then he shrugged. "I've had weirder things happen. Or maybe I'm still in shock. But... we should focus on figuring this out." There was clearly something he was holding back, but this was not the time for it. They could talk later.

"We still need a witch to deal with this," Kurt said. "If Tina is going so insane about this, then who else can we turn to?"

Blaine frowned. "We definitely need some reinforcements. We should go and see Sue."

Kurt closed his eyes, imagining Sue under an anger curse. "I knew you'd suggest that," he said.

"If you have a better idea...?" Blaine asked.

Kurt shook his head. "Fine, let's find her then."

* * *

It was ridiculous how easy it was to break into the college buildings, but Kurt was used to this. The lights around them lit automatically as they walked past. The doors to Sue's office were closed, but there was also light inside, and more importantly, they could hear Sue swearing at someone. Blaine was hesitating in front of the door, but Kurt didn't have that much patience, so he walked past the boy, opened the door and stepped inside.

Sue was at the phone, still yelling. Kurt wasn't quite sure what she was talking about, but he caught enough of the conversation to figure out she was talking to the Watchers' council. Kurt suppressed a shudder. Now that was group of people he never wanted to get close to again...

"You know what?" Sue shouted. "How about you tell that to the little elves living in your hair, William? I have more important things to do!"

Sue threw the phone against her window with so much force that it broke. Kurt wondered just how many of those things Sue destroyed in one week, but the thought was gone the moment she turned and saw them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Slayer junior and his little pet project. Whatever gives me this honor?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "We don't have time for your attitude, Sue."

Blaine, of course, was trying to be more diplomatic. Apparently not even getting chased out of the window by a furious witch was enough to drive out his damn politeness.

"Sue, I know you're feeling unnecessarily aggressive and anxious, but there actually is a reason for this. It's not just you, it's almost everyone."

"I don't get _unnecessarily_ aggressive, and I don't get anxious on principle," Sue replied.

"It's the damn unicorn," Kurt said. With Sue, it was easy to get lost in her insults and the ridiculous points she threw up, but he got the best results by cutting to the chase instead of playing her game. "She's infecting everybody with their hair, driving us insane and aggressive... except for Blaine, for some reason. Maybe so the damn thing has someone to look after her, I don't know."

"The point is, we need to stop her before it's too late," Blaine said. "But we can't figure out what she's planning, or what we're supposed to do..."

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, unicorns don't exist, and I have better things to do than hunt down mythical creatures. For example, hunting down that idiot brother of yours before he ruins more than just his own life."

"Great, denial is going to help," Kurt said, but Blaine wasn't paying attention. He had clearly latched onto something else Sue had said.

"What do you mean about Cooper? What is he doing? Is he alright?"

"He has come to the oh-so-original conclusion that life is unfair, or hard, or whatever you angsty teens call it these days, and now he wants to change it."

"He should call up Tina for this," Kurt said, still trying to get the conversation back on track. "Apparently, she'd love to relieve him off his powers."

"What is he doing?" Blaine repeated.

"What do all young idiot wanna-be heroes do?" Sue asked. "He's trying to get the girl."

"Quinn?"

"I assumed, although I wasn't paying that much attention," Sue said. "Either way, he's on his way to the airport, and I would be on my way to get that idiot back if I didn't have to deal with even bigger idiots from the Watchers' council. Now that they've given up, though..." She threw a look at the broken cellphone lying in the corner. "You'll excuse me, I have a plane to stop."

"Well, I can't say I particularly care about Cooper's doomed love life," Kurt said. "But we have an actual crisis here. Everybody is losing their minds. Tina is trying to brew the slayer potion, and the devil knows what Santana or Brittany are up to. So I'm afraid your Quinntervention will have to wait until this chaos is taken care of."

Sue glared at him with so much fierceness, that Kurt found himself almost taking a step back.

"Just to make this very clear, Cullen, while we appreciate your occasional help, you are not in charge here. I am. Do you know how many crises Sunnydale has to deal with in one week? Hell, not even our idiot slayer knows. I'm the one who deals with most of them. I'm the one who has to evaluate things, to figure out what is serious and what isn't. I think I have a better grasp on what exactly has the highest priority right now. And that's not a unicorn, and not a witch with a pathological inferiority complex. It's the slayer going through a way too early midlife crisis. So you can go hunt unicorns all you like. I have to force a complete idiot to see reason."

"What are we supposed to do about Tina then?" Kurt asked.

But once again, Blaine was following a different script. "Is Cooper safe? Do you think he's in trouble?"

"He will be once I get my hands on him," Sue replied, her voice dead serious.

"This is more important!" Kurt yelled.

Sue looked him up and down, as she slowly came closer. "And you think I, a watcher, will listen to the commands of a vampire?"

Kurt closed his eyes, tried to focus and calm down his own anger. He could imagine what fire was running through Sue's veins at the moment, had just escaped the same feelings a short time ago. Antagonizing her would not help.

But she didn't pay attention to him. "Now you will step out of my way and take care of whatever you're so concerned about. I do have priorities."

There was a dangerous note in her voice, and Kurt almost stepped back on reflex. Blaine didn't have that instinct, apparently, or had possibly suppressed it, too worried about his brother. He actually approached Sue.

Even before she moved, Kurt knew that had been a big mistake.. He tried to call out, but Sue was faster. He couldn't tell whether it had been a push or a punch, but it sent Blaine sailing through the air, right at him. In a split second Kurt had to decide. He could have side-stepped – but he didn't move. Blaine hit him with enough force to make him tumble backwards. Kurt gasped, suppressing a yelp of pain, but he could catch the boy once more.

There was a crash of glass behind them, and Kurt caught a glimpse of Sue's red track suit as she apparently jumped out of the window. For a second he considered jumping after her. Scary as she was, she was still human and he would be able to catch up with her. It might be the smart choice, really. This was getting worse with every minute. There was the concern of letting Sue in her current aggressive mood out on the street, a completely different one that Cooper with his slayer powers and probably just as much anger was on his way to meet his ex girlfriend, not to mention a power hungry Tina and whatever was going on with Santana and Brittany.

Those were valid concerns, but right now it was hard to care about anything but the boy he was still holding.

Whatever protections Blaine had built against the night's events, this last attack had made him drop them. He was shaking slightly, his eyes wide in disbelief and shining. Even his breathing seemed troubled. The worst thing was the look in his eyes. He seemed almost defeated.

It was just wrong. Blaine was usually so hopeful and enthusiastic, which made the difference was even more jarring.

"I don't think we'll catch up to her," Kurt said. "I can run fast, but I've seen her drive." It wasn't completely true, but he wasn't going to leave now.

Blaine nodded, but Kurt wasn't sure whether he had even listened.

"Although...", Kurt continued. "She might have a point, though. We don't know what exactly we're dealing with, and especially with Tina going crazy it might not be the worst thing to have the slayer on our side. If we manage to break him out of the influence of that thing..."

"No!" Blaine's answer was immediate.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.

"i don't want to go find Cooper," Blaine said. "I don't want to see him until this is over."

Kurt frowned. "But... he could help us, if we can-"

"I don't want to see my brother!"

Kurt's eyes widened as the boy pushed away from him, standing on his own feet again. There was a flash of despair in his eyes that Kurt couldn't quite place. Still, he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Alright, fine, we're not going after him," he said. "Just... why not?"

Blaine breathed deeply before he answered, and in those few seconds, he schooled his face back into a calmer expression.

"Tonight alone, I've been attacked by three people I trust. And it'ss all because of the machinations of a creature that I brought into our lives, because I though it was helpless and needed my protection. Just because I was naïve enough to believe in unicorns." He sighed, closing his eyes. When he spoke again, his voice was soft, and raw as if he was seconds away from crying. "I'm barely holding it together, Kurt. And if Cooper turns against me... if Cooper hurts me... I just... I can't." His voice broke on the last word.

Kurt couldn't help feeling guilty. He hadn't considered what it would be like for Blaine to have his friends turn on him. He hated being one of the people who had attacked him. Blaine was usually so confident and hopeful. How had Kurt never thought about how hard it could be sometimes to keep up that kind of attitude?

He put a hand onto Blaine's shoulder, trying for a gesture of comfort. But it wasn't enough. After a moment, Kurt put his arms around him in an embrace.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You're right. When you get your brother back, it will be him, nobody else. I promise."

Blaine's hands were clutching into his shirt, and his breathing was rough, but there were no sobs, no tears against the fabric.

"I can't do this," Blaine whispered against his shirt.

Kurt sighed, holding him tightly against his chest. "You can," he said. "You will. And I'm right here with you. We'll figure this out together. Okay?"

Blaine still needed a moment to collect himself. Eventually, he stepped back and looked up at Kurt. His face was dry, but he looked exhausted.

"It's my fault... and I have no idea how to fix this," he said.

"It's not your fault," Kurt replied. "And we'll find a way to fix this together. We just have to find out what's going on." He frowned. "Of course, that's not going to be that easy without a witch, or a watcher, or a slayer... I guess we can try to talk to Brittany, maybe she can focus long enough to think of a way to defeat a unicorn, but... Blaine? Are you listening?"

Blaine's eyes had widened, and suddenly, his face had transformed, none of the defeat was seen. "What did you say?"

"Ask Brittany?" Kurt suggested.

"No. A witch!" Blaine said.

"Erm... our witch is going crazy and wants to siphon all your blood," Kurt said.

"Tina isn't the only witch we know," Blaine said, fishing his cellphone out of his pocket. "I'm calling in reinforcements."

Kurt's eyes widened. "Who are you calling?" he asked.

Blaine stopped, and for a moment, he looked guilty. "I'm calling Quinn," he said eventually. "I know, we said we wouldn't pull her back into this mess. But we need her, and if we don't solve this, Cooper will stand at her door step in a while, drugged on unicorn aggression juice. I'd rather leave her out of this, yes, but right now we endanger her more if we don't ask for her help."

Kurt looked at him surprised, but he could see where Blaine was coming from. "Do you think she can help us over the phone?" he asked.

"I don't know," Blaine said. "But its our best chance. And if she can't help us, then we can at least warn her."

Kurt nodded. "Alright then. Quinn it is."

* * *

The cold air didn't do much to cool Santana's temper. Clearly, she was an idiot that shouldn't be trusted with the responsibility over a pet rock, much less her own life. Who had ever gotten the idea that sshe could handle anything on her own?

She had told Brittany to leave. What on earth had she been thinking?

It wouldn't be nearly as bad if she could trust her girlfriend to see through her anger. She had thought Brittany could do that, but lately... lately all she talked about was the faery world.

It wasn't just the fear of losing her girlfriend to her home. Even in this world, there were enough things that could distract Brittany. She did have an extremely limited attention span. And Sam was just one of these possible distractions.

This was his fault, really. If he had kept his distance and didn't butt into other people's relationship...

Even now, Santana realized that Brittany held some responsibility here, too, but she couldn't deal with it right now. Brittany was different, she wasn't even human. Faeries had different ways of bonding, and she didn't see problems that human beings would – or at least people like Santana who'd been burnt too often before...

Sam on the other hand should know better than to try and steal her girlfriend. Damn, wasn't she the least bit scary anymore? She was used to people stepping back from her temper alone, and in most cases, her additional slayer powers had only aggravated that effect.

What did Sam even bring to the table except horrible hair and stupid impressions that nobody cared about? He had no power, no special knowledge, no vampire taming abilities. What was the point of him?

Santana shook her head. No, she was being irrational. She was part of this team, and it was one of the best things that had ever happened to her – even before she had met Brittany. This whole saving-the-world gig had worked out great for her. She liked being part of a group. It may not be her natural inclination, but it was... nice.

So she would calm down, walk, do nothing irrational and go back to her girlfriend. Then they'd talk quietly about their relationship. She could do that. There was a first time for everything.

After a few moments, she was calm enough to take out her phone and make a call. She knew she was too angry to be rational right now. She needed to hear her girlfriend's voice if she wanted to calm down.

She waited as patiently as she could, every single damn second until...

Voice mail. Now Brittany wasn't even answering her phone? How was she going to talk to her now? Sure, Santana could return to her dorm room, but how could she even know if Brittany was still there? Maybe she had already left...

Maybe she had gone to see Sam – or even worse, she was on her way back to the faery world.

Santana tried to calm herself down. Nothing was going on. Nothing horrible had happened. But still, it felt as if everything was slipping out of her hands, and that wasn't something she could deal with. She hated not being able to do anything. And if she couldn't get hold of Brittany, then what could she do?

Well, she may not be able to get hold of Brittany, but she could definitely get hold of Sam. Suddenly, it made sense. Taking out Sam might not guarantee hers and Brittany's relationship, but it couldn't hurt to take out any distractions.

Sam would regret the day he had messed with her life.

* * *

Blaine felt sorry for having to do this. But as he waited for the call to be answered, he knew that he didn't have much of a choice. With some more time, they could have found a way to research the unicorn. But time wasn't a luxury they had, and he wanted this sorted out before Cooper did something he would never forgive himself for.

Kurt was standing close, watching him. Maybe he was still worried, waiting for Blaine to freak out again. To be fair, that concern wasn't completely invalid. Blaine couldn't guarantee that he'd keep a cool head for the rest of the night. But now he had an idea on what to do. When this all was over... Blaine gulped, trying to suppress the new wave of despair. When this was over, he knew he was going to take a long hard look on the decisions that had brought him here. But right now, everybody was in danger because of him, and his blind trust that good thing happened and unicorns were real. His feelings of guilt would have to wait until the mess was taken care of.

"Hello?"

Blaine was surprised when his call was answered. For one, he had almost forgotten he was on the phone, lost in his thoughts. But most importantly, the voice that answered wasn't the one he expected. It sounded more like a little girl.

"Uh... who is this?" he asked.

"Who are you?" the little girl asked. "I'm not allowed to talk to strangers."

Blaine frowned at Kurt. "Not Quinn", he mouthed. He wondered whether he had gotten the wrong number, but then he realized.

"You must be Beth," he said. "My name's Blaine, I'm a friend of your mom's. Could you get her to the phone?"

"I guess..." the girl said. "Quinn! Another crazy on the phone for you."

Blaine waited a bit longer. He could hear the girl talking to somebody, although she must have put the phone down, as he couldn't understand the words. All he got was the tone of the conversation. It sounded warm and happy, and for a moment, Blaine considered to end the call and find another way... but there was no time, and for Cooper's sake he needed to fix this.

"Hello? Who is this?"

Blaine closed his eyes, steeling himself. "Hi Quinn, it's Blaine."

There was a sigh of relief. "Blaine! It's really good to hear your voice."

Blaine bit his lips involuntarily. "Yours, too." It was true. Somehow, just listening to Quinn's voice made him feel calmer. He had always seen her as an older sister figure, even though she was only a year or two older than him. But when he had come to Sunnydale, she and Cooper had been a couple, and she had almost lived with them. She also had the ability to keep a cool head even in the worst of crises. Now that he thought about it, Blaine realized that a cool head was something they were missing dearly at the moment – not just tonight, but in general.

"I guess you already heard from Cooper?" Blaine asked. He couldn't imagine why else she would be happy to hear from him.

"I did," Quinn said. "Is he alright? He sounded... weird. He said he was coming here, and that he is done with slaying, and then he went on about what he was going to do to Sue if she tried to stop him again. He didn't say what was even going on. I freaked out. I actually thought that something had happened to you. Why else would he go off like that?"

"A unicorn," Blaine said. "But nobody's hurt, and I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine," Quinn said drily.

"Well... I'm not dead," Blaine corrected himself. "But I need your help. Something's going on here... I found a creature... a unicorn. And somehow, it's manipulating everybody, makes them aggressive, angry. It got Tina and Sue, too, and from what I can tell everybody else, too. We don't know who else to turn to..."

"We?" Quinn asked. "There are people unaffected?"

"It didn't affect me," Blaine said, "and I managed to free Kurt."

"Good, he can keep you safe," Quinn said. "Now tell me more about this unicorn. I didn't even know those were real..."

"They do exist in the fae world, Brittany told me," Blaine said.

"Oh, the faery. I heard about her," Quinn said. "But do they exist in our world?"

"Amalthea is real, so I'd say yes," Blaine said.

"Alright," Quinn said, and her voice was so calm, that Blaine felt immediately better. "Tell me everything you know."

As he summed u what had happened so far, he watched Kurt, who was leaning against Sue's desk, eying it as if he was wondering whether it would be worth the risk to break it open.

When he finished talking, Quinn was quiet for a moment, before she spoke again. "I don't have as many books here," she said, "but I did find a really good database, and I know a few people I could call... Send me a picture of your unicorn, I'll see what I can do and call you back. Just... are you safe? Is Kurt still with you?"

"He's here. I think we're safe at the moment," Blaine said. "But Tina is working on that fake slayer ritual, so... the sooner the better."

"Blaine?"

"Yes?"

"...am I safe?"

Blaine's first reflex was to say that of course she was safe, Cooper would never hurt her. But there was the matter of this weird unicorn possession. Just moments before, he himself hadn't wanted to see Cooper under that influence.

"I don't know," he said eventually. "I don't really understand this. Maybe you want to relocate for a bit."

"No," Quinn said, "I definitely won't do that. I'm staying where I am. But I might send Beth off with her father."

"Right," Blaine said, "Beth. I talked to her.. She sounds brilliant." He had known of course that Quinn had a daughter, but before, when Quinn was living with them, the child had never been an issue. She had lived with her adoptive mother, and Quinn had only a minimum of contact. That, of course, had changed under dramatic circumstances.

"Careful, Blaine, she'll have you wrapped around her finger in no time," Quinn said. There was a note of warm and happy pride in her voice, that made Blaine smile. He hadn't imagined Quinn as a mother, more as a sister, but the role seemed to suit her. Then he realized something. "Is everything alright with you and her? It's just... she called you Quinn..."

"We're getting along really well," Quinn said. "It's all been tough on her, she still misses Shelby like crazy. It's okay if she doesn't call me mom. I haven't been her mom, that was Shelby. I'm that strange woman that she only saw a handful of times, who one day showed up on her doorstep to take care of her. She's closer to Puck, really. He always tried harder to be part of her life. But we're making it work, one step at a time."

"It sounds nice," Blaine said.

He could hear the smile in her voice. "It is. But now let's focus on taking care of your unicorn, okay? Send me the picture, I'll see what I can do."

Blaine knew that Kurt was still watching him as he ended the call and sent the picture he had saved of the unicorn to Quinn.

"That's it?" he asked, once Blaine pocketed the phone again.

"I told you these are practical," Blaine said. He looked at Kurt's doubtful gaze and sighed. "Seriously, Kurt, just let me get you a phone?"

"How about we first concentrate on our current situation?" Kurt suggested. "You're not going back to that thing, not until we know what exactly we're dealing with."

Blaine frowned. "Where am I supposed to go?" he asked. "If all my friends are dangerous..."

"Only those who've been in contact with that thing," Kurt said. "Do you have any friends outside your brother's little gang?"

Blaine hated to admit that he actually needed a moment to think about that question. His brother's work was so important that he found most of his own time centered around it. Even when they weren't battling the forces of hell, he found himself spending most of his time with the rest of the gang, as Kurt called them. There were other students he got along with, but he wasn't especially close to most of them. He tried to think of somebody he could crash with.

"Well?" Kurt asked. "There has to be someone."

"Won't I put them into danger?" Blaine replied.

"Nobody but me will know where you are," Kurt said. "And we're not done for tonight. Just... call a friend, ask them if you can stay there later. I just want you to be safe when I can't be with you during the day."

Blaine nodded, although he averted his eyes almost involuntarily. Kurt's concern for him sent a feeling of warm comfort through him. And yet, it made him feel even worse than before. Taking care of Amalthea had finally distracted him from his unfortunate crush. Now, it started to come back, or maybe he was just that desperate for some stability after tonight's events. Whatever it was, it had come at an inconvenient time. He and Kurt needed to work together in order to take care of the unicorn and everything connected to it. He couldn't afford to be distracted, especially not by something so stupid. He had to stop running after things that didn't exist.

It felt like he was on the edge of a discovery, almost at the point of understanding something important.

A hand on his arm made him flinch and look up. Kurt was standing right in front of him, looking at him intently and saying his name. Whatever he had been about to discover, he had lost the thought.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked. There was an edge in his voice that Blaine couldn't quite place.

"Uh... yeah. Sorry. I was just... thinking," Blaine said.

Kurt watched him carefully, as if he wasn't quite convinced of this. "It's been quite the night, hasn't it?" he asked after a moment.

Blaine shrugged. "It's Sunnydale," he said with a shrug, as if that explained everything. And really, it usually did. But somehow, tonight it felt worse than usual.

"Come on," Kurt said, and led him to the curtain at the back of Sue's office. He pulled it aside to reveal what looked like the most exquisite couch Blaine had ever seen. It was made of red velvet, buried in silken cushions. It looked ridiculously comfortable, and Blaine had real problems combining it with Sue's usual spartanic attitude.

"What is that?" Blaine asked.

"Sue is extravagant," Kurt said shrugging. "Lie down, get some rest."

"I can't," Blaine protested. "We have to do something."

"We have to wait," Kurt replied. "Until we get news from Quinn, there's not much we can do. There's no point in running around in circles. So you get some rest, and if you have to do something, call up the rest of your friends, check up on them – and find somebody you can stay with."

"What will you do?" Blaine asked, even as he moved to the couch.

"Sue's office is empty, and she won't be back for some time. This is the perfect opportunity to find the dirt she has on me," Kurt said, looking around the shelves.

"Sue has dirt on you?" Blaine asked frowning.

"It's Sue Sylvester. She has dirt on anybody."

Blaine nodded thoughtfully. That made a lot of sense, really. For a moment he wondered if she had any dirt on him, too. But he doubted he was important enough for that. He didn't need to be important, however, in order to check what was going on with his friends.

* * *

Even now that Kurt knew Sue wasn't coming back, it still felt weird to go through her things. She probably had a sixth sense and would know the second she stepped into the room that he'd been here. But right now, Kurt didn't care.

He hadn't found yet what he was looking for. There had been a few records on his past in her folders – something about his life as a human, a lot about the years he had spent running around with Sebastian and Hunter, two other vampires like him, in whose company he had done abominable things, hooked up on blood and immortality. They weren't pretty stories, and Kurt knew that he had done many things that he should be ashamed of. But his memory of those years had become hazy, and it was easier not to think too much about it.

He wondered whether he should read in more detail what Sue had found on him. He looked up from the folder and to the couch where Blaine had fallen asleep.

Something about this disturbed Kurt. Sure, the night had been stressful, and Blaine had been attacked by three friends so far. His attempts to contact anybody else had not been met with success. Nobody had answered his calls, Kurt guessed either because they were in trouble, were causing trouble, or were too angry at the world to answer the phone. Tina might even meet all three of these criteria. At least Blaine had found someone he could stay with while all this madness was going down. But he had been strangely subdued, and eventually had fallen asleep.

Kurt thought back to this night's events, trying to remember if Blaine had been this exhausted earlier, more tired than usual. He couldn't tell for sure. There had been that weird moment where Blaine had been so deep in thought that it had taken minutes to get his attention. It was the one thing Kurt could put his finger on. But even in general, something about the boy's behavior hadn't been quite right.

Unlike his own behavior, which currently consisted of watching Blaine sleep like a creepy stalker. Kurt shook his head and turned back to Sue's folders. He started leafing through it, just to have something else to focus on.

Almost at the edge of his perception, he read three words and almost dropped the folder. His eyes darted to the sleeping boy, and back to the paper. The words were still there.

Anderson, Blaine Devon.

Sue really did have dirt on everybody. Kurt hesitated. He could tell that there weren't many pages dedicated to him before the next entry about Cohen-Chang, Tina began. He could easily read it while they were waiting for Quinn to call. And really, how dark could Blaine's past be? Maybe reading this would help him understand the boy... But Kurt couldn't bring himself to turn over the page. It would be such a violation of trust...

Trust.

Suddenly it clicked, and he realized what had been wrong. If there was one thing he knew about Blaine, it was the absolute and blind faith he put into his brother. He'd follow Cooper to hell itself, always trusting that his brother would look out for him. Kurt knew short from straight up demonic possession, there was nothing in this world or any other that would make Cooper turn on his kid brother. And Blaine knew this as well. Tonight, Blaine had been afraid to even see Cooper.

Even as his theory was developing, Kurt knew that it didn't make complete sense yet. Even if Blaine didn't trust his brother right now, no matter how unusual that was, he hadn't been suspicious. He had walked into Tina's dorm room, albeit with a bad feeling, and it had been his idea to contact Sue and then Quinn. And more importantly, he had shown complete trust to Kurt. So Blaine wasn't paranoid. He wasn't aggressive, either. Had he really been himself, though?

Kurt put the folder away and slowly started to approach the couch. It was nothing, he tried to tell himself. So Blaine had doubted his brother under some kind of magical influence, and he was more tired than expected. He had zoned out for a few minutes before. It didn't mean anything.

But Blaine had spent more time with that thing than anyone else had. Kurt had only seen it once and had been infected. How could Blaine escape it?

He hesitated again when he arrived at the couch. Blaine was still sleeping. He looked so vulnerable, so young. Beautiful... But not peaceful. There was a frown on his face and he seemed to shiver, as if he was cold. Kurt sat down on the couch. He put a hand into Blaine's hair, to the curls that had escaped their gel prison. A part of him wanted to just let him sleep until Quinn had found a solution.

But he had to know.

With a sigh, he put his thumb unto Blaine's eyelid and carefully pulled it open, hoping not to wake the sleeping boy.

At first, Kurt saw nothing suspicious. There was the white eyeball, interrupted by a few red lines. Then, there was that familiar hazel ring, the golden flecks around the pupil. Still suspicious, Kurt opened the other eye. It looked fine, too. Then why did he feel like something was wrong?

For one, Blaine hadn't woken, just let everything happen. And also...

His pupil was wide. It had made sense outside, in the dark, for the pupils to be blown wide. But in the light of Sue's office, they should be smaller. And more importantly, they should have tightened while opening.

Kurt let the lid drop, and closed his own eyes for a moment, long enough to count to ten. When he opened his eyes, he put both his thumbs onto Blaine's lids and opened them. As the light hit them, the pupils remained as they were. And now, as Kurt stared at them, really focused onto the black, he saw it.

Tiny specks of white, not shining, almost transparent, and therefore hard to see. But once he'd seen the first, he saw more of them. They were countless, and when Kurt tried to pull something out, he realized that they had completely penetrated the pupil. It was impossible to take hold of them.

Kurt closed the lids, pulling back. He had been careless enough to believe Blaine was safe. He had been wrong.


	5. All That Glitters, Part III

_Cooper, The Vampire Slayer_

 **All That Glitters, Part III  
**

Kurt groaned, glaring at the ridiculous plastic thing in his hands. No matter how often Blaine insisted on him getting one of these, he was sure he'd never see the point of them. But he needed to contact Quinn, and tell her that Blaine was affected too, and more importantly in a different way than anyone else. These things were supposed to be easy to handle, right?

As it turned out, they weren't. He wasn't even sure how long he had fiddled with that thing, but he did know that he needed to talk to Quinn. Why wouldn't this obnoxious device work?

"Stupid goddamn thing," he growled. He was starting to see Sue's point in throwing them against every possible surface.

"What's wrong?"

Kurt looked up in surprise. He had been so annoyed with that thing that he hadn't noticed Blaine waking, and finally sitting up. Fine, they could do it this way, too.

"Call Quinn," he said. "We have new information."

Blaine frowned, obviously not yet awake. "What information?" he asked.

Kurt closed his eyes, trying to gather strength before he answered. "Just... just call her. And switch on that thing where I can hear her talk."

"Speaker?" Blaine suggested. "Alright, gimme." He held out his hand, slowly blinking until he managed to keep his eyes open.

Kurt watched him carefully for any more signs of strange behavior. He seemed exhausted, but he had just woken up.

A moment later, Blaine put the phone in front of him onto the couch and a signal tone ringing. After only three tones, Quinn's voice answered.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," Blaine said. "But Kurt has something to say." He must have noticed the vampire's suspicious look at the device. "Just talk," he whispered, slightly rolling his eyes.

"What is it?" Quinn asked. She sounded tense, as if she was waiting for something.

"I think the hair doesn't always cause the same reaction. Some people might be affected in a different way," Kurt said. He looked down onto the phone, not wanting to look at Blaine directly.

"What? Who? And how?" Blaine asked, clearly confused by this development.

Kurt opened his mouth, not sure what he wanted to say.

"I think he's talking about you," Quinn said, her voice soft.

"Er... no. He's not..." Blaine looked up to Kurt, his eyes widening. "What... Kurt?"

"They're in your eyes. Those... hairs, or spikes. I checked earlier," he said.

"But... I'm not showing any signs," Blaine protested. "I'm not more angry, or more aggressive..."

"You're more tired," Kurt said. "More doubtful, maybe. As I said, you're affected in a different way."

"Have you felt extremely happy lately? I mean, when you were taking care of the unicorn?" Quinn asked.

Blaine's eyes were wide and insecure. "I... I was..."

"It was fulfilling, wasn't it?" Quinn continued. "A safe target for all tat love... you could just pour it onto the unicorn."

Blaine's face flushed. "I...what? What love?"

Quinn sighed. "I know you feel lonely sometimes," she said. "Even though you don't want Cooper to see. But the unicorn was something to focus on. It made you happy. Made you feel useful, right?"

"I... okay, fine," Blaine said. "Focusing on her made other things seem less painful. But what does this even mean?"

"It means you already know exactly what we're dealing with, doesn't it?" Kurt asked.

"Well, I've had a few theories," Quinn admitted. "But this is really helping in narrowing it down."

"So what's wrong with my unicorn?" Blaine asked.

"She's not a unicorn," Quinn said "She's an erisian demon."

"A what now?" Kurt asked, picking up the equally confused look on Blaine's face.

"An erisian demon," Quinn repeated. "They're shapeshifters from a different plane. Listen to this and tell me if it sounds familiar. They're a highly competitive demon species, their mere presence is able to cause strive in those around them. They're born in different planes and abandoned. They believe only those strong enough to find their way back home deserve to survive."

"So at least the part about her being a baby is true," Kurt said. "What happens with them?"

"Well, they have to gather more energy in order to return to their home plane. And Blaine... I think it imprinted on you."

To his surprise, Blaine's eyes widened, and he almost scrambled away from the phone.

"Okay, I did _not_ sign up for that!"

Even as Kurt frowned at him, he could hear a chuckle from the phone.

"Not the Twilight definition, Blaine," she said. "I'm talking about the baby animal definition. You must have been the first person she saw. So she imprinted on you, choosing you as her caretaker."

"So is that the effect of her? That Blaine feels like taking care of her?"

"I doubt she needed much of a supernatural influence for that," Quinn said. "But yes, in a way. She infected you in a different way from everyone else. You're drawn to look after her, and away from the people you loved before. But most importantly... the erisian demon builds a connection."

"What kind of connection?" Kurt asked suspiciously.

"You're not going to like this," Quinn said. "Blaine... she's feeding off you."

Kurt wasn't sure whether Blaine had actually gotten paler or if it was just an illusion. "Feeding? What... you mean she's going to drink my blood?"

"Not blood, no. I'm talking about energy transfer. You wouldn't even notice until she had taken most of your energy. You'll gradually turn weaker, and the thing will grow stronger. At some point, it will have enough strength to teleport back to its own realm – probably when it has taken all your energy. She's killing you, Blaine. "

Blaine closed his eyes, and for a moment he looked just tired. "Quinn? You wouldn't happen to have an idea why everybody is always targeting me, would you?"

"I wish I knew," she said. "But let's focus on what to do with the demon for now, okay?"

"We kill it," Kurt said.

Blaine stared at him in disbelief, as if he had just suggested... well, to slaughter a baby unicorn.

"What? You expect me to sit back and watch while everybody else tries to kill each other and you grow weaker until you fall over and that thing uses your corpse as a raft to hell?"

Now, Blaine looked mostly disturbed. "That's... a colorful picture," he said.

"Quinn, back me up," Kurt said.

"He's right. The only way to weaken her influence over everyone – including you – is to destroy the demon," Quinn said. "Fortunately, I think I know how to do that."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, we take a stake made from some sort of special wood, bless it with holy water, and then we use it to stab the demon?"

There was a pause, before Quinn spoke again. "Okay, so demon killing isn't exactly creative or individual. Sue me!"

"What kind of stake do we need?" Blaine asked.

"Well, actual unicorn horn would be perfect," Quinn said, "but I don't think we can find some. So we'll take elder wood. Do you have any of that around?"

"Sue has some," Blaine said. "I think that dresser over there is made from elder wood."

"Perfect," Kurt said. He was walking over to it, and before Blaine could even think about protesting, he broke off one of its legs.

For a moment, it looked as if Blaine wanted to scold him, but then he sighed and shook his head. "Regular holy water?" he asked instead.

"Do you still have that holy oil from Jersualem? It should work even better. Just to make sure you take it out right away;" Quinn said.

"Cooper stores some of it at home," Blaine said. "Anything else? Spells or anything?"

"No, that's all," Quinn said. "You have to try and stab it in the throat. Think you can do that?"

Blaine's face turned serious again. "Why does it have to be me?" he asked.

"Because Kurt will burn his hands off if he grabs a sanctified weapon and you don't have anyone else who's unaffected right?"

"Good point," Blaine admitted, but he was clearly uncomfortable.

"Blaine, listen," Quinn said. Her voice sounded calm and comforting now. "I know this is going to be hard. You won't want to hurt her, not with the way she influences you already. But you can do this. I believe in you."

"Thank you," Blaine said softly.

"Get going now," Quinn said. "The sooner you get rid of the demon, the sooner Cooper and everyone else will be free of its influence. Okay? And call me when it's over, or if something goes wrong."

"Okay. I will. Thank you, Quinn."

Kurt watched Blaine carefully as he ended the call, solemnly looking at his phone. It was obvious that he didn't share her confidence in him.

Slowly, Kurt walked over to him, putting a hand onto his shoulder. "She's right, you know? You can do this."

"You don't know that," Blaine said softly. "I might think I can do this. But I also thought it didn't influence me."

"It's been a lot in a short time," Kurt said. "It's not surprising that you feel exhausted, or overwhelmed. But you don't have to do this on your own. I'm coming with you, you don't have to do this alone. I'll be right beside you. We can do this together. I promise."

Blaine looked up to him, still looking doubtful, but eventually he nodded. "Alright. Let's do this."

* * *

Nothing brought a shock to you like the realization that you almost just killed a friend. Tina still felt guilty when she thought of Blaine, how he had narrowly escaped.

His vampire had saved him, of course. Apparently the thing was following him everywhere now. Was Tina the only one who still remembered that vampires were supposed to be their enemy?

But not for Blaine. No, he'd rather hook up with a demon than give her the time of a day. And he was surprised she tried to take his blood for a dark magical ritual? He probably wouldn't even have minded to share his blood with _Kurt_...

Even if Cooper and everyone else was blind to it, it was obvious to Tina that something was going on there. One didn't have to be a witch to get that.

It didn't matter anyway. Didn't she despise the way her friends let themselves be distracted by relationships? Cooper and his whining over Quinn, that whole mess with Brittany and Santana and apparently Sam, Blaine fancying his vampire... She hadn't been that unprofessional when Mike still had been with them.

So she was not going to get pulled down into that mess, no matter how beautiful Blaine's smile was. No, she would be strong and rational, and turn into the hero Sunnydale needed.

All she was missing now, was essence of the slayer. Blood of the slayer, to be exact. Now that she thought about it, it had been stupid to go after Blaine. He couldn't help her. No, she needed Cooper Anderson for that.

Maybe she could go after Santana, too, but she wasn't a real slayer, who knew if her blood would work. Besides, she was scarier.

Hopefully, Cooper was asleep now. If she was fast, she could figure this out and become the hero they needed before the night was over. No time to lose.

* * *

Sam started to regret ever coming to Sunnydale. He could have stayed with his family, taking care of them, find a job in Ohio. He would have been fine there. Why did he really need a college degree anyway?

But here he was, in California, in his college dorm, and he was about to die.

This was all Cooper's fault, or Sue Sylvester's for directing everything, or possibly Blaine's because Sam was pretty sure he wouldn't have become involved with the slayer of all people if it had been anyone else but his best friend's brother. And usually, Sam liked the gang, fighting the good fight, saving the world. But lately, it had just become annoying. He knew that he wasn't exactly useful. He was just human. Compared to everyone else, what did he really bring to the table? Cooper was the Chosen One, capital letters and everything. Sue was just scary. Tina was a witch, Brittany was a faery, Santana was super-powered, Kurt was a vampire. Of course, Blaine didn't have any special powers, and he also got into a lot of trouble, but somehow things always worked out for him, while Sam usually felt like thee idiot sidekick to basically anybody else. He certainly never managed to convince a bloodthirsty vampire to let go of a talisman he had hunted for decades, and he never would have gone up against the faery queen to protect somebody who had hurt him.

Well, he might consider going up against the faery queen in order to help Brittany. But he was quite certain that he wouldn't be successful with it. No, Sam was just human, and maybe he wasn't equipped to deal with all of this madness.

Speaking of which...

The hammering to his door had returned. "Open the fucking door, Evans, I know you're in there!"

Santana's voice was angry enough that she sounded actually hysterical. The door was locked twice, and he had put every piece of furniture he owned in front of it, but still he was worried that it wouldn't hold much longer. Santana was crazy strong, and this was still a community college dormitory – not exactly the sturdiest material.

"You won't get her, do you hear me?!" Santana yelled outside his door.

He shouldn't have put the moves on Brittany. She was just so... special, and unique. Sam couldn't help but get interested in this girl. He hadn't even wanted to make a move on her. It was just... he liked her. He didn't know how much. And sometimes, he got the feeling she liked him too. And apparently, Santana had gotten the same impression, and she was pissed off.

It was his own fault. He should have held back. But somehow, the last few days, it had been so hard to lock away his feelings. So maybe he had been careless. Maybe he had flirted a bit with Brittany – but she had flirted right back. It wasn't his fault if Santana and her were having problems. If Santana wanted any of her relationships to work, maybe she should stop being such a bitch all the time.

The next blow almost made the door jump out of its hinges. Sam retreaded even further back against the wall. He had thought he could hide in here until Santana got tired or anybody answered his texts. But maybe he would have to get out of here before it escalated. Climbing out of the fourth floor window... certainly nothing here could be going wrong.

As he turned to the window, he heard a crash behind him. Shocked, he whirled around. He had hesitated to long.

The door was broken down, and the furniture in front of it was being pushed aside, as Santana squeezed herself into the room. Once she was standing, she shook the wood dust out of her hair, looked at him, and grinned at him like a wolf.

"Heeeeere's Johnny!"

* * *

Blaine wished he could be anywhere else. He didn't want to have Kurt walking him back to Cooper's house, he didn't want to enter the house alone and silent, as if he had to be actually scared that Amalthea could hear him. He hated that his first way was to one of Cooper's weapon chambers where he still kept the sacred oil from Jerusalem that Sue had acquired in ways nobody wanted to investigate too much. But despite what he knew, Blaine really wanted to go into the garden, see the unicorn, and...

And what? Help her? Free her, maybe?

Blaine stopped in the quiet house, oiled up stake in his hand. Amalthea was not a unicorn. She was a demon. She had infected Cooper, and Kurt, and the rest of his friends, and he himself was being fed off even now. And not just that. If even now he could consider freeing her, to protect her even over Cooper's well-being, then her influence on him had to be much stronger than he'd expected.

No, he knew what he had to do. But could he do it?

"Blaine? Is everything okay?"

He could hear Kurt's voice calling from the door, waiting there for him to return. It would be easier to have him come inside, but... A shudder went over Blaine's spine, and he found himself involuntarily touching the side of his throat. If he focused, he could still feel the scars those fangs had left. He remembered how scared he had been, the pain...

He trusted Kurt, had trusted him with his life more than once already. He wasn't scared of being attacked again. But inviting any vampire, even Kurt, into his home?

Not ever again.

"Blaine, what's taking so long?"

"I'm coming," Blaine called back. He'd have to deal with his doubts later. He had a demon to kill. Somehow.

When he walked up to the door, he could see Kurt standing outside, his face full of concern as he was waiting. With every step, Blaine tried to breathe deeply, to fight the feeling of nausea rising up in his throat. He could do this. He had to do this.

"Are you alright?" Kurt asked.

Blaine wanted to speak freely, to say that of course he could do it. But all he managed was a shaky nod.

"So how do we do this?" Blaine asked, turning the oiled stake in his hand.

"I'll hold the thing down and you stab it," Kurt said. "I think I'm stronger than a baby demon."

"Okay, yeah, that sounds good," Blaine said. It sounded entirely too graphic for his taste, but he would do this. Everyone counted on him, and after all he was the one who had gotten them into this mess. Him and his stupid naivety...

Blaine sighed. "Let's get this over with."

He stepped outside, fell into step beside Kurt as they made their way to the backyard. He could see the unicorn – no, the demon – grazing near the garden shed. She didn't even look up as they approached. She looked... peaceful, vulnerable, completely helpless.

She wasn't helpless. She was poisoning his friends.

"You can do this," Kurt muttered beside him. "You know you can."

Blaine nodded again, although every additional step somehow made it more difficult to believe it.

Finally, Amalthea looked up. Blaine froze where he stood, scared of her reaction. She turned her head to Kurt, and there was a flinch, as if she was scared of the vampire.

Blaine found his legs moving before he had even realized it. A few seconds later, he was kneeling in front of the unicorn. His right hand held the stake so tight that it hurt, but with his left, he stroked through her mane. She looked up at him, so trusting, so defenseless. How could she be a demon? How could she be dangerous?

He tried to remind himself of Cooper, who was out there, needing him to end the creature's influence. He tried to think of Tina, pursuing power she didn't understand, of Santana whose temper was unstable at the best of times, of Brittany and her otherness. And there was Kurt, right there with him, who had thrown himself into almost suicidal fights. The demon had to be stopped, not the least because she would feed off him probably to the point of his death. He needed to stop her.

His left hand got a tighter hold of her mane, his right hand was ready to plunge the stake into the exposed throat.

So vulnerable...

Easy. It should be easy.

His hands were shaking so hard, he was surprised he didn't let go of the stake. But still, Amalthea was watching him through her large, silver eyes, completely trusting.

He had to do this.

He could do this.

Gathering all the willpower he could find, Blaine tried to strike...

A sob escaped his throat, as he stopped the stake right before her throat, still shaking. He couldn't. How could he hurt her? He had to find a way, he knew that, but... Oh god, he couldn't.

His whole world seemed to shrink down to Amalthea, and her large silver eyes, staring right into his soul. She knew. It was so obvious. She knew why he had come, but she wasn't afraid. She must have known there was nothing he could actually do to harm her. He was the only one left, and he... he was helpless.

The stake started to slip from his grip...

And suddenly, it was torn from his hand. A sizzling, searing sound filled his ears, as if something was burning, there was a howl of pain... He turned, and all he could see was a creature towering over him, the stake in its claws. Blaine tried to get to his feet, he had to stop this...

A strong hand pushed him to the ground, and all he could do was watch as the stake was plunged into Amalthea's throat. Silver blood gushed from the wound, over the hands of her killer. There were screams ringing in his ears, as Amalthea was twitching on the ground.

And then, there were arms around him, he was pressed against a strong chest, obscuring the picture of he dying unicorn. Only then did he notice that the screams had been his. Tears were flowing from his eyes, as Kurt – of course it was Kurt, how could he have forgotten? - held him through it.

Over his own sobs, he could hardly hear the death rattle. Eventually though, silence fell. He noticed that the tears falling from his eyes felt... rough, as if he wasn't just crying out fluid. Kurt had said the hairs had been in his eyes...

"It's over," Kurt said softly against his hair. "It's okay, Blaine. It's over."

But all he could do was clutch his hands into Kurt's shirt as if for dear life.

It was over. They were safe.

He felt like a wreck.

* * *

Santana couldn't have said how long she had stood there, staring at Sam. She did know, however, that his panicked expression didn't make her feel nearly as powerful as it had only a few minutes ago.

She didn't feel powerful at all, actually. She felt...

Weak, tired, and a bit ashamed. Why had she thought it would be alright for her to terrorize a guy who could never beat her in a fight? Why had she thought it would be smart to take out her anger on him, instead of dealing with Brittany herself?

Oh god, she had told Brittany to get out of her life.

What was wrong with her?

"Um... so, do you feel really weird, too?"

Santana looked up in surprise when Sam spoke. "I... I do," she said. Her voice sounded strangely weak in her own ears. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have scared you." Surprisingly, for once the apology wasn't excruciatingly hard to say.

"What was that?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Santana said. "I was so angry..."

"And suddenly it was gone," Sam said. "I've felt that way, too. It's like there's been this shade over my vision, and it crawled up on you so-"

"So you didn't even notice it was there until it was gone," Santana finished the sentence. She shuddered. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know... have you ever seen something like this happen?"

"Never," Santana said. She sighed and leaned against the remains of the door. "So we can assume the same thing happened to the both of us. Probably the others, too. And now it's over."

"I guess we should check with the others, find out if they're okay. And maybe somebody has a better idea of what happened," Sam said.

"Right," Santana said. But then, she thought of something else, and she could feel the blood drain from her face. "This isn't going to stay a secret, is it? The Watchers' council..."

"Won't hear a thing about this," Sam said. Although he looked just as spooked as she felt, he spoke with conviction. "I'm not going to tell them, nobody else will. Look, I'm not thrilled over this, but we don't know what happened, I don't think it was your fault. I don't want you to get hauled back by the Watchers' council for prodding or to lock you up or anything. Besides, Brittany would be really upset, too."

"I'm not so sure... I... I told her to get out of my life. I don't even know if she's still here."

"You have to be insane if you believe she actually left you," Sam said. "Come on, we'll find Brittany, and then I think you and her need to talk."

"Why are you so nice to me?" Santana asked.

Sam shrugged. "Maybe I just want to do something nice after this whole disaster. Don't you feel like that too? Now come on, let's go."

* * *

The airport was moderately busy, even at this hour. But Cooper had no eyes for other people. He felt tired, almost drained. Only moments before, he had been filled with so much anger, had been anxious to get off the ground... But then, it had just disappeared, leaving him with this feeling of... emptiness. What had he been thinking, really?

There was movement beside him, as someone sat down on the chair next to him. He didn't need to look up to know that it was Sue. Of course she had caught up to him. Although now it didn't even matter anymore.

"What's that you've got there?"

He sighed, not even questioning her presence. "A ticket to Ohio," he said.

"As someone who escaped from there, I can understand why the prospect of going to Ohio might depress you like that," she said. "May I ask what you intend to do there?"

Another sigh. "I... I wanted to see Quinn. I just... I wanted to leave. I wanted to get out of this life, and get back together with her, and maybe she'd take me back and we can build a life together. Ridiculous, hm?"

"Completely," Sue agreed. "You can't run away from slaying. Even if you quit, they'll always find you."

"And Quinn has moved on," Cooper said. "She has a real life. I don't... I don't want to keep her from anything. It's just..."

There was a snort, that made him look up. "Spare me the self-pity," Sue said. "And there's no need for the martyrdom, either. That girl would love to have you in her life, and you know it. But you have to stay in Sunnydale, because if you don't, the world will end. And she has to stay with her daughter, because somebody has to raise that munchkin, and Sunnydale is about the worst place to raise a child."

"I know all that," Cooper said, the feeling of defeat pierced by a spark of anger. "But it's unfair! Why do I have to give up everything? I'm ruining my own life, and my friends'. And what about Blaine? He could be safe if I wasn't the Slayer, and now he feels he has to stay in Sunnydale, where – let's be honest – he'll most likely get killed eventually, and it will be my fault. Can't you see why I want to get out of this?"

"Of course I see that," Sue said. She spoke completely serious now, nothing of her usual snark. "But you've been chosen. I told you, you can't walk away from this. And that's not because I say so, or because of the Watcher's council. It's because of who you are. You have these powers, and they will draw the forces of darkness as long as you live. It's your fate. And those close to you wish to stay with you to help you through the danger."

"I know," Cooper said. "And I didn't mean those things I said about you. I was just so... angry, and it was easy to project that onto you. I know you're not really the force keeping me in Sunnydale. It's just... it sucks. And it doesn't help that you can be really harsh sometimes."

For a moment, they both were silent, before Sue spoke again.

"There's a reason I'm that harsh to you," she said. "I've seen other Slayers before you. I've been with the Watcher's council for a while, so it's inevitable. When I was chosen to watch over you, I wasn't that impressed with you at first. But when I got to know you, I realized something."

"What's that?" Cooper asked.

"You have a rare ability – you make people want to help you, to use everything they have in order to support you. I'm not sure you understand how important that is. But this team that you grouped around you is your biggest asset. It's what has kept you alive for so long. And when I realized this charisma of yours, I realized something else. Maybe you can actually make it."

"Make it?"

"The fight against evil will go on forever, I'm sure of that. But nobody is the Slayer forever. Most die, of course, but in the history, a few have managed to survive. They eventually lost their powers, passed them on so to speak. From all the Slayer's I've met – you're the first that actually made me believe that's possible. That's why I'm riding you, Charming. Because you're worth the effort."

Cooper looked at her in surprise. "You think I can survive this?" he said.

"At least you have a shot," she said.

"What about my friends? What about Blaine?"

"Some of your friends have already gotten out and are fine," Sue said. "And as far as Prince Gel-head is concerned... maybe you worry about him more than necessary. It didn't seem important at the time, but before I came after you, he and his pet vampire came to see me. They think the unicorn was behind it. I didn't think it mattered, but... something has changed..."

"The aggression is gone," Cooper agreed. "You think Blaine did that? He figured out how to stop it?"

"He's not as helpless as he seems," Sue said. "I have a feeling he has some more surprises for us in store."

"He's amazing," Cooper said. He could feel himself smiling, even through his odd mood. His little brother had saved them. He really could be proud of the kid.

"He's learning," Sue said begrudgingly.

"I just hope he's alright," Cooper said, and suddenly he felt serious again. He had his phone in hand before he had even finished the thought. Before he could do anything else, he needed to make sure his brother was safe.

It took longer than expected until there was an answer.

"Cooper? Are you okay?"

He sighed in relief. His brother was alive, and most likely safe.

"I'm better. What about you? Are you safe? What happened?"

"Demon. The unicorn was a demon. She's gone now," Blaine said. "Sorry, I'm a bit shaken up."

"Did you kill the demon?" Cooper asked.

"Kurt did," Blaine replied. "And um... Quinn told us what to do. I'm sorry, I didn't know who else to ask..."

"It's fine, Blaine, I'm just glad you're okay. And I think I spooked Quinn enough already..."

"It wasn't your fault," Blaine said. His voice sounded hollow, tired, and raw as if he'd cried. He probably felt about as exhausted as Cooper himself. Even Sue seemed a bit deflated. "Where are you?"

"Airport," Cooper said. "But I'll come back. I just wanted to make sure you're safe."

"I am. I'm okay. Um... I'll see you soon."

Before Cooper could say anything else, the call had been ended. He frowned, not sure what to do next. But he didn't have much time to think before there was an incoming call. One look at the display made him freeze.

Quinn.

"What do I do?" he asked, looking up at Sue as if he was a child needing guidance.

Sue rolled her eyes and answered the call for him, leaving him no choice.

"Yeah? Hey. Um... Listen..."

"No apologies," Quinn said. Even through the phone it was too good to hear her voice again. He had hardly been able to appreciate it when he had called her to tell her he was on his way. The anger had been too hot back then...

"I kind of owe you an apology, though," he said. "I shouldn't have called you like this. And I'm sorry, I just-"

"I said no apologies," Quinn repeated. "You were under the influence of an erisian demon. They cause strife and aggression. You weren't yourself, so there's no need for you to apologize. I just heard from Blaine that it's over, and I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I am," Cooper said. "I'm at the airport, Sue's here too... and Blaine and Kurt got rid of the unicorn. Demon. Thing. So things should go back to normal."

"I'm glad. I hope nobody was hurt," she said.

"I'll find out when I'm back at Sunnydale," Cooper said. "Thank you for helping Blaine with this."

"Anytime," Quinn said. "And you know... I mean it. If I can help you, I'd love to. Look, I know I had to leave quite suddenly. I know this isn't exactly my life anymore. But I can't just let it go either. I hate that we're hardly in contact. I know that's my fault, too. It's just... after that plane crash, I just had to think of Beth. She was left without her mother, and even though Puck kept contact with her, he wasn't really her father... I mean, biologically, yes, we're her parents, but growing up she only knew Shelby, and Puck was the nice uncle who visited sometimes. When Shelby was gone, she needed someone there. Puck couldn't do it. Who else was there?"

"I get that," Cooper said. "You know I do. I've never blamed you for leaving. You know that, right? It's what you had to do, we talked about it."

"I don't think we talked enough," Quinn said. "Not about what it would be like if I actually left. And I wish we had. So... I've been thinking. And I have a suggestion."

"What suggestion?" he said.

"You're at the airport, right?" she asked.

"With a ticket to Ohio," he said. "Do you think I'll get a refund?"

"You won't need it. Take that ticket, fly to Columbus. I'll pick you up at the airport, you stay with me for a few days. You'll get to know Beth, you and me get to talk, and we can figure things out. Sue will manage to deal for a few days."

"I'm not sure..."

"I am," Quinn said. "Text me your arrival time, I'm picking you up. End of discussion." Even though her words were final, there was warmth in her tone.

Cooper looked at Sue, who rolled her eyes. "Just go. You have five days off, then you're back in Sunnydale."

"Alright then," Cooper said. It seemed unreal, that he would actually get to see her again. But this was happening. "I just... I can't wait to see you."

"Me neither," Quinn said. "Alright, I'll see you in a few hours then. And Cooper?"

"Yes?"

"I... I love you. I still do."

He closed his eyes, warmth running through him. "I love you too. I'll see you soon."

* * *

Tina was walking through Sunnydale back to her dorm, too preoccupied to think about how dangerous this usually was. Hadn't she made quite the fool of herself? Trying to become a slayer, attacking Blaine, even thinking about going after Cooper? Now the anger had faded, and she felt...

Exhausted, yes, but it wasn't that which had really hit her. She had been so close to Cooper's house that she had continued the way even after the anger had faded. She had wanted to check if they knew anything about what had happened.

What she had found...

They hadn't seen her, Blaine and his vampire, standing in the garden. Kurt had held Blaine in a tight embrace, and Blaine had been holding onto him as if he was drowning.

They had joked sometimes, her and Sam and Santana, that Kurt only helped them because he was into Blaine, or that there was something going on between them. But that had been a joke. Only when she'd gotten angry, Tina had started to believe it. Now? She wasn't sure. But it was obvious she had witnessed something between them.

What did it mean then, to her?

Nothing. It couldn't mean anything. So she had developed a stupid little crush. She had known before that it would never go anywhere. It was still different to see them together. Were they together? And did it even matter to her? It wasn't as if she'd ever even been an option for Blaine.

It still hurt.

Maybe an hour ago, she would have gone crazy. She could have gotten furious, threaten to tell Cooper about it. But now? She was tired, and sad, and she hated it.

She heard foot steps approaching, and she looked up in alarm. The person walking up to her could have been a mirror of her own emotions – sadness, exhaustion, defeat...

"Brittany?" Tina asked, quickening her step until she was standing in front of the other girl. "What are you doing out here?"

"I've been looking for you," the faery said. "Everyone else is going crazy, because of the baby demon, but now it's gone. That's sad, isn't it?"

"Baby demon? What are you talking about?" Tina asked.

"It doesn't matter," Brittany said with a shrug. "She's gone. Maybe it's because supernatural beings don't belong here. I don't know."

"Why have you been looking for me?" Tina asked, as usual not sure how to deal with Brittany and her eccentricities.

"You're a witch," Brittany said, "and you can perform magic. I need you to do that."

"Do what exactly?" Tina asked.

"I need you to open a portal to my home world," Brittany said. "And then talk to the Queen for me, because she seems to listen to humans more. She let me stay for a human, and maybe for a human she'll let me go home."

"Go home? To the faery world? But... why?"

"It's time," Brittany said, but her face closed down so drastically that Tina could just tell that there was more going on. "Will you do it?"

Tina sighed. "I'm not doing any magic tonight. I need time to recover and to think. And I guess you can use some, too. So let's just go back to the dorm, go to sleep, and figure out everything else tomorrow. What do you say?"

Brittany looked decidedly unhappy with this. She looked at Tina as if she was pondering whether it would be worth it to try some of her faery powers to change her mind. Eventually, though, she resigned and just shrugged. "I guess we can do that."

"Whatever is bothering you might even fade, if this weird anger thing is really over," Tina said.

"Santana's anger thing is never over," Brittany said. Her voice sounded carefree, but her expression was clouded.

"Then why don't you talk to Santana about this?" Tina suggested. "Actually talk. You know, like humans do. And listen, that's part of it, too."

Brittany sighed. "I guess... You humans make everything so complicated."

Tina thought of Blaine, how tightly he had clung to a vampire, as if he was the only thing that made sense in the world. She also thought back on Kurt, how tender his expression had been. It hurt, but even in the moment of hurt, she felt stupid.

"Not just humans," she said. "But yes, us especially." She shook her head. She was not going to discuss this with Brittany of all people. She didn't understand the mere idea of the word secret, and Tina was not ready to have her silly feelings examined by everyone in their group. "Let's just go back."

They were silent the rest of the way. They didn't have much to talk at the best of days, and now at least Tina felt exhausted from tonight's events, and really, the days leading up to it, the rising anger... All she wanted to do was sleep. If it had been Sam, they might have talked about anything unimportant. But conversations with Brittany could become very bizarre, and Tina did not feel awake enough for that particular madness. But at least, with the faery by her side, she didn't need to worry about any vampires attacking.

Though somehow, they didn't encounter anybody until they had reached their dorms. Tina thanked their lucky stars. How easy could something worse have happened while they were all distracted by their private drama...

When they had just reached the of the dormitory, Tina spotted to figures also headed to the building, though from another direction. In the darkness, it took her a moment until she recognized them as Sam and Santana. Now that was a pair she hadn't expected walking peacefully together...

Santana had spotted them too, because for a second she stopped as if frozen – then she ran towards them, as fast as she could. Tina watched as the other girl approached them, ran to Brittany, and threw her arms around the faery.

"Oh thank god, you're still here!"

"I guess," Brittany said, still not sounding very enthusiastic.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it!" Santana said.

"You didn't?" Brittany tilted her head, and Tina thought she heard a note of hope in her usual monotone.

"Of course I didn't! I'd never want you gone. It's just... there's so much going on in my head, and my life too. I don't know how to deal with it sometimes. I don't mean to take it out on you. It's just too much sometimes."

"So do we have to talk now?" Brittany asked. "Tina said we do."

Santana threw a look of resigned frustration at her. "I guess she has a point," she said. "But... not tonight, okay? Can we just be together tonight, and talk tomorrow?"

Brittany frowned, really seeming to think it through. Eventually, though, she nodded. "Okay."

They hugged again, then walked inside the building their pinkies intertwined. Tina watched them, not sure what to think of it.

"Everybody ends up together," she said softly.

"Really?" Sam asked. "Like... those two and us?"

Tina winced. She had almost forgotten he was here, too, and hadn't even noticed how he had approached the group.

"No, those two and... it doesn't matter. Just... it's neat, isn't it? It all just stops and... everything's sorted out."

"It's not sorted out," Sam said. "But there's a chance for it."

Tina felt the corners of her mouth twitch upward into a smile. "That's a very nice way to think of it," she said. "I like it."

"I'm glad," Sam said. "I'm also glad this is over, whatever it was. Do you feel as tired as I do?"

"Definitely," Tina said. "I need to sleep for like two days."

"Me too," Sam said. "So... um... weird question... Could I maybe crash with you for a few nights? My room isn't exactly... inhabitable."

"What happened?" Tina asked, frowning.

"Have you seen the Shining?" Sam replied. "Never mind. Just... can I?"

Tina rolled her eyes. "Come up, then. What are friends for?"

* * *

Kurt didn't know how long they had been sitting on Cooper's porch, Blaine weakly leaning against his shoulders. He ignored the pulsating pain in his right hand from where the holy weapon had burnt him. Vampires weren't supposed to hold things like this. But it had been necessary, and it had worked. The fight was over, the demon was dead, and the effects on the others had faded. By now, Blaine had not only talked to Cooper but also the rest of his friends. Everyone was okay. Nothing bad had happened.

But still, Blaine was sitting there, slumped into himself. He looked exhausted. As he rubbed his eyes. When he touched a hand to his wet cheek, Kurt could see the small, needle-like hairs. They had flown out of his eyes with the tears, a visible proof of the demon's influence fading.

Blaine seemed calmer now. Talking to his brother and his friends had definitely helped. Still, he was sitting there, his arm barely touching Kurt's, and his eyes firmly on the ground, not looking up.

A part of Kurt's mind told him to leave now. He had helped with the threat, had done even more than was necessary. After all, that was his rule, wasn't it? If it's not the apocalypse, he wouldn't get involved, unless his own head was on the line.

And Blaine. No use denying it, he would always help if Blaine was in danger. Hell, that would probably turn him into a permanent member of that damn scoobie gang...

Either way, the danger was gone, and he still couldn't make himself leave.

"Hey," Kurt said softly. "Are you okay?"

"Sure," Blaine said, although it sounded more like a reflex. "I'm fine. Just tired."

"Maybe you should rest," Kurt suggested. "It's been a rough night for you. Of course, you're exhausted."

"What about you?" Blaine asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Kurt said. He turned his right hand, so the palm wasn't facing upwards, but the movement had unfortunately not been as casual as he had hoped.

"What's that?" Blaine asked, grabbing his wrist and turning his hand around. "Oh god... what... it's burned!"

Kurt looked at the surface of his palm. It did look bad, his whole palm red except for the center where it had blackened, blisters on it... It still hurt. But he could bear it, and he'd bite his tongue off before he'd admit it to Blaine.

He shrugged. "It's not painful anymore. It will regenerate after I've had some more blood. Don't worry about it."

"Where did you get that?" Blaine asked.

"Vampire. Elder wood covered in holy oil. It doesn't match too well," Kurt said. "It burnt for a moment when I held the stake. But it's fine, just looks worse than it is. As I said, it will regenerate. In a few nights' time, you won't even know it was there. I'm serious, don't worry about it."

"But... it's my fault," Blaine said slowly. "I should have been able to kill her, you shouldn't have needed to even do this. You only got hurt because I wasn't strong enough."

"I'd hardly call this getting hurt," Kurt replied. "And you were under a form of mind control, too. It was foolish to expect you could just break out of it. Let's just be glad it worked out the way it did."

"Yeah, right..." Blaine nodded, but everything from his expression to the way his shoulders slouched just screamed defeat.

"Can I ask you something?" Kurt asked. "Why is this really bothering you so much? There have been demons and other creatures before, you're not the first of us who got fooled, and while this was disturbing, nothing really bad happened. Why are you so beaten up about this?"

Blaine looked at him, hesitation written all over his face. Eventually, he looked down again before he started to speak.

"This whole thing... it's my fault. It only happened because I let a demon into our lives. Because I was... stupid enough, and naïve enough, to believe that unicorns exist, and that one would come to me and choose me. I just... I thought I was special, that I had something amazing happen to me. But it was just a trap, and it only worked because I was so... dumb. Everyone will tell you, I'm too naïve, I'm blind... Ask Sue, or Santana... and where does it get me? That's what gets me targeted all the time, be it vampires, or demons, or faeries... It's just..." He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm the kind of person these things happen to, Kurt. I'm someone these things can just be done to, and I'm _sick_ of it. I just... I thought if I stayed optimistic, and if I believed in good things, then they'd happen. But I was wrong, wasn't I?" He looked up now, his eyes gleaming with unshed tears, but his face hard with anger. "Life's not fair. The good guys don't always win, the bad guys don't always get what they deserve. My brother will eventually get killed trying to save the world, and my friends might be too. This is reality. Good things don't happen, and unicorns don't exist. That's why I'm bothered, Kurt. That's why it's eating me up."

Kurt felt cold to the core. This was a side of Blaine he hadn't seen so far, apparently one the boy had not only been trying to hide, but actively fight against. Was this what Sunnydale had done to him? Or had there been roots to this defeatist attitude before?

Either way, he would not stand for this. Blaine's optimism and faith had been impressive, humbling for him. He had wondered just how the boy managed to keep his sunny attitude in spite of everything. He was not going to stand by and let Sunnydale or any demon drag Blaine down.

"You're wrong," he said. "So this wasn't a unicorn. You were tricked. But that doesn't mean that unicorns don't exist, or that there's nothing to believe in."

"What ever good came out of me believing?"

Kurt bit his lip. He could step back now. But what was his pride even worth, compared to Blaine so deeply miserable? Nothing.

"There's me."

Blaine's face immediately softened, and a shadow of confusion appeared. "What do you mean?"

"You believed in me," Kurt said. "Nobody else did. And you had no reason to, either. Sure, your brother approached me for help on occasion, but he knew I wasn't one of them, that he had to be careful around me. But you? You started to trust me, even after I gave you every reason not to. I attacked you, and still, you managed to see beyond that. You believed I could be better. Me, a vampire. It's about as likely as a unicorn."

"I was awful to you, though," Blaine said softly. "I told you that you'd ruined my life."

"I did ruin your life," Kurt said. "After that night, it couldn't have been the same. I had no right to do that, no right to hurt you at all."

"You know I forgave you," Blaine said.

"Yes. Because you believed in me. And look at me now. I'm helping with freaking bunnies! Without being forced! Face it, you've completely changed my life as well."

"But you hate it. You keep saying so." There was a smile starting to sneak into Blaine's face. He knew exactly how much truth was behind these complaints.

"Blaine, the truth is... When I say I have other friends except you guys... that's a lie. I don't. The friends I had before you are all long dead, or vanished... And Sebastian is not my friend. I used to hang out with him and Hunter, but that wasn't friendship. Actually, those have been some of the darkest times in my life. But you? You believed in me, when nobody would have, and you became my friend. I guess even the rest of your brother's ridiculous gang qualify as friends. But I wouldn't even have been a person ready for friendship, if it hadn't been for you. If you hadn't believed in me... I would hang around the graveyard every night, fight with those ridiculous high school neanderthals, and... I'd be so lonely, I wouldn't even notice how miserable I was. Instead, I'm fighting for a good cause, I have people who'd have my back if I was in trouble. And you. So don't say your faith never accomplished anything. It has changed my life for the better. Honestly – I don't want a world where you don't believe in unicorns. And I'll kill a hundred more demons, I don't care if it burns my hands right off – if only that allows you to keep believing unicorns exist."

Blaine looked at him, wide-eyed and hopeful. "You mean it?" he asked softly.

"Every word."

He wasn't quite sure what to do next, but fortunately, Blaine made the decision for him, by throwing his arms around Kurt's neck.

Kurt held him close, burying his unhurt left hand into his hair. He hoped his words would be enough to help Blaine get out of this low point. They probably wouldn't. Kurt knew a thing or two about self-doubts, knew how deep they ran. He thought back on their first meeting, the things Blaine had said back then. He had been lost, almost depressed, and thinking back, Kurt could see that the roots had been there even back then.

He couldn't make sure his words would stay with Blaine forever. But he could try to be there and remind him when things got too dark.

"Do you want to get some rest now?" Kurt asked.

There was a moment of silence, as Blaine thought about it. "I... Actually, I don't think I want to be alone right now," he said.

"Well, I can't exactly go inside, and you should definitely not stand in the cold all night," Kurt said.

Blaine frowned, hesitant and uncertain. It would be the easiest way to just invite Kurt into the house again, but it was obviously asking too much. He shouldn't have brought it up. Looking around, he suddenly had the perfect solution.

"That one's your room, isn't it?" Kurt asked, pointing to a window on the upper floor.

Blaine nodded. "It is," he said.

"Why don't you go up to your room and grab a blanket or something, and I'll meet you on that balcony you have there? That's outside the house, it should be no problem."

Blaine looked up at him in amazement, then he nodded. As he disappeared into the house, Kurt climbed up the house wall until he had reached the balcony. A moment later, the room lit up and Blaine joined him, indeed bringing blankets.

They sat together for a long time, not talking much, just sharing the space, looking outside at the stars and the night sky. When they did talk, it wasn't about the demon, or what had happened. It was everything and nothing. They sat there long after Blaine had fallen asleep, and he could already feel the night drawing to a close. In a few moments, he would have to wake Blaine, send him inside to sleep properly, and then return to his refuge. But not right now.

Right now, he kept an arm around Blaine's sleeping form, allowed himself to breathe in the smell of his hair. It was going to be hard to suppress his feelings, harder if he planned to be around more. But he was still dangerous, and more importantly, what Blaine needed was for him to be a friend. The danger of the demon was passed, but Kurt had seen something darker tonight. This... bitterness wasn't something he had noticed in Blaine before, and it worried him. Killing demons and holding speeches was easy, but Kurt knew it wasn't enough to keep self-doubts and fears like this at bay. Time, and patience, and friendship might have a chance.

So he would do what he could, be a friend, be there. Be what Blaine needed. And if that meant he was going to spend more time with the slayer and his gang, to help fighting other vampires, demons, witches and other things...

He looked at the boy leaning against him.

Well, maybe this wasn't such a huge sacrifice.


	6. Let The Right One In

_**Summary** : Kurt Hummel is officially tired of people thinking he is some sort of lackey for the most annoying slayer he ever met. It's time to take a stand. Things turn out different, when he doesn't find the slayer, but rather meets the slayer's younger brother. An unexpected encounter that will leave scars on both of them._

 _Notes:_ _There we go, apparently this verse isn't abandoned after all!_  
 _Just kidding, I just didn't feel like writing for a long time. But here it is, the chronologically first story so far in the CTVS-verse:_  
 _The first encounter between Kurt, a vampire sick of working for the good guys, and Blaine, younger brother to the slayer._  
 _I hope you enjoy._  
 _The next story (when I get around to it) is "The Damsel in Distress", an x+1 story that should build a bridge between this story and the relationship between everyone you see in the other stories in this verse._

 _Cooper, the Vampire Slayer_

 **Let The Right One In**

Kurt was tapping his foot, trying to keep his impatience under control. Goblins were notorious for keeping their customers waiting, and this special one only even turned up in Sunnydale once upon a blue moon. Well, technically, only during the nights of a lunar eclipse, but it was rare enough. Only a few people in Sunnydale knew how to find the creature's secret hideout that of course had to be in the sewers. Even so, when Kurt had arrived, there had already been other customers – a hag, two warlocks...

By now, it was almost his turn. The warlocks had disappeared behind the curtain where the goblin shaman held his little sessions about half an hour ago. Now it was only Kurt and the goblin's apprentice waiting for the time to pass.

Goblins were annoying, but useful. Nasty creatures, green leathery skin was drawn tight over their bizarre, knobby bone structure. Most of them only reached Kurt's hip, though he wasn't sure how much of that was due to the hunch they all seemed unable to shake. They claimed to be proud of their looks, but it was no secret that it was their appearance that had forced them to live out of the public's eyes for centuries. A side effect was that they had become masters at hiding – and in consequence, at gathering secrets. For now, Kurt was only interested in one part of their knowledge. He was seeking information about an artifact. This shaman was known to be an expert about these things. It had taken Kurt quite some time to find out where the hideout was, to figure out the right schedule, and eventually get in contact to arrange this meeting. He had heard about the goblins from his demon lord, and through her he had come to hear about the artifact he was after.

The light behind the curtain dimmed until it was completely dark. The apprentice looked up, started to count on his fingers and toes to 18, and after another moment, he turned to Kurt.

"The Master will receive you now," he said, his voice hoarse.

Without a word to the apprentice, Kurt strode through the curtain and into the shaman's actual working area.

"Why are you here, vampire?" the shaman said without looking up. If it was supposed to impress Kurt that the goblin knew what he was talking to, it was a useless attempt.

"Straight to the point then," Kurt said. "I'm in Sunnydale in order to find an artifact on behalf of my demon lord. Since nobody is as knowledgeable about artifacts as you are, I hoped you could give me information. It's-"

"It's of no importance what you are looking for," the shaman said. "You won't find help from me, or any other of my kind. So why are you here, wasting both of our time?"

"Excuse me?" Kurt's eyes flashed in anger. How dare this little thing... "My mistress is Lady Isabelle of Wright," he said between gritted teeth, "and it's on her behalf I'm looking for this artifact. Do you really want to draw her wrath?"

"Your mistress doesn't scare me. I'm safe from her while I'm in Sunnydale," the shaman said "and even outside she wouldn't dare attack a member of my kind. We know too much. As for you... who knows if you're even still working for her."

"What?"

The shaman looked at him with a look that could only be called contempt. "I make a habit of knowing important things. And so I know that you, Kurt Hummel, have started working for another master. You've become lackey for the Slayer. Do you really think any self-respecting creature of the night will help one who has betrayed their kind for the chosen one?"

Kurt's mouth fell open and it took him a moment until he knew what to say. "Wait, is this about what happened at the Solar eclipse?" he asked. It had been the first time he had helped the slayer, and even though he didn't like how this necessary partnership had developed, this first time was something he still stood behind. "It wasn't about helping the Slayer. Starchild was going to destroy the whole world. Of course I was opposed to that. I helped save all of your lives."

"Nonetheless, it was the slayer who stopped Starchild, and you helped him by betraying your friend. My sources also mention that you've been following the Slayer's orders ever since. Not something we expect from a vampire, especially not a noble one like yourself."

"Forget about Isabelle, you should worry about me if you don't tell me where I find the amulet I'm looking for," Kurt gritted out between his teeth.

The shaman remained unimpressed. "You are going to leave," he said, "or you will regret it, vampire."

Kurt glared at him, but he knew that he was beat. The goblins were dangerous, if only for their networking structures, and with their expertise on artifacts, it was even likely that they knew a way to actually hurt him.

"Fine," he said "but this is not the end of this."

It was an empty threat, and Kurt knew it. If he was actually here on Isabelle's behalf, he might have had a chance. The problem was that he needed this amulet to get back into her good graces. Without it, turning to her for help would be equivalent to a suicide attempt.

But a reputation as the slayer's lapdog? Hell would freeze over before he'd accept that! He was a vampire, damn it. This had gone far enough, and it was time to put an end to it. The only way to ensure that now was a direct confrontation.

* * *

By the time he'd arrived at the Slayer's house, Kurt's anger had just multiplied. How could he have possibly let it come this far? Fine, there was this business with Starchild, but what was he supposed to do? The world was nice, Kurt didn't want to see it destroyed. Then there was that doomsday thing, and again, saving the world wasn't exactly up for discussion. The arachnoid business on the other hand... that probably wasn't quite his business or as important. And as for the dryads, that had not been technically necessary, but it had helped further cloaking his presence from Isabelle, so that had been a win-win situation.

Every single step seemed logical, but put together, they led him down a path where he was perceived as some sort of lackey to the slayer of all people! He had to put this right.

Finally, he had arrived at the slayer's house, smartly positioned with a bit distance to the neighbors. The front door was decorated in ridiculous flower arrangement that Kurt was sure nobody but Cooper Anderson could even stand looking at. He considered tearing them off, but it didn't really matter. In one decisive motion, he put his finger onto the door bell and started ringing. He didn't take his finger away until he could hear steps coming closer inside, and then he balled his hands to fists and started banging against the door. He knew he had been heard, obviously, but this was about pressure. He didn't plan to give the slayer even a second of breath to dispute him.

The door opened, and Kurt let his fist fall against the wood one last time as it swung open.

"You!" Kurt yelled – and then, he froze.

Behind the door was not Cooper Anderson.

He found himself in front of a young man, or maybe only a boy. He was shorter than Cooper, also paler, so probably not living here in Sunnydale. His dark hair was smothered under too much product but starting to curl at the edges, and even with the loose red shirt and dark shorts, Kurt could imagine a fit body. And the eyes... Hazel, specks of green... Had he seen eyes like this before?

The coppery smell of the boy's blood waved through the air, softly calling to Kurt's instincts, like a familiar song from his childhood. The eyes, something in the way this boy looked at him, and this smell... It was the oddest sense of déjà-vu Kurt ever had.

They had met before, hadn't they? For a second, Kurt tried to think where and when that could have been. But there were too many years that were only a haze, a continued orgy of blood... It was impossible to pinpoint when this boy could have turned up. Unless...

"Can I help you?"

Kurt almost flinched when the boy actually spoke. He looked at Kurt with confusion and growing annoyance. There wasn't a spark of recognition.

"You're not Cooper," Kurt said, not very eloquently, as he had to admit.

"No," the boy said, now sounding irritated. "I'm Blaine, his brother."

Kurt felt himself deflate. Not him then, not the boy who vanished. He didn't remember much about him, but his name had not been Blaine.

"Are you here to see Cooper?"

Kurt blinked, tried to focus on the situation. He had come here with a purpose. Why was he so distracted now? And of course, now he had lost all his impetus.

"Is Cooper here?" he asked. "I have something to discuss with him."

"Who are you? Are you one of his friends? Because he said he's meeting them somewhere on campus," the boy said.

"My name is Kurt. And friends... well, I wouldn't go that far. I know him. And I need to talk to him. In private."

"Um, okay, but that doesn't really change the fact that Cooper isn't here."

"I figured," Kurt said. "When will he be back?"

"I don't know," the boy said, looking away. He seemed almost a bit upset about it. Some family troubles? This could be interesting... and it was never a bad idea to have ammunition against the slayer.

"It's important," Kurt said, hoping to get some information.

"Did you call him?"

"I don't have a phone," Kurt replied.

"Oh, was it stolen? That must suck," the boy said sympathetically.

"No, I just don't have one," Kurt said. "Never have." He wasn't quite sure why he answered anyway, and he started regretting it when the boy looked at him with a mix of disbelief and pity.

"Why not?"

"I just never needed one," Kurt replied. "So, you really don't know when Cooper will be back?"

"I don't," the boy said. "But he said it wouldn't take too long... then again, he always says that. Look, if you want, I can give him a message, or if it's really important... well, I guess you could come in and wait here?"

Kurt was just about to give an excuse, when the words hit him.

"Come in?" he repeated.

"Sure, why not?" The boy shrugged, as if he hadn't just given Kurt the ultimate trump card. "I'm not doing much anyway, just watching TV."

"Sounds great," Kurt said, trying to suppress the excitement running through his veins. This was amazing. A vampire couldn't enter a house without an invitation, and of course the slayer had always been very careful about this. But the slayer's brother didn't care that much. Or maybe...

Of course. The brother probably didn't even know. Could it be this simple? And just to think what he could do with an invitation... Free access to the slayer's home. And all he had to do was come in now, have some small talk with the little brother, and then excuse himself in time before Cooper showed up.

The boy turned around and walked back into the house. Kurt hesitated for a moment, wary of the door step. But this was it, a chance he had been waiting for, so he closed his eyes, and then he followed.

The hallway he stepped into didn't even look particularly impressive, but still, Kurt was amazed as he closed the door behind himself. This was the slayer's house, and he was moving freely inside it. This was perfect. He certainly would be able to use this to remind the slayer that he was not some silly lapdog.

As he followed into the living room, his eyes fell to the boy walking in front of him. Just a déjà-vu, not someone he actually knew, not even from his darker times. The boy was too young to have known him back then, anyway, and as the smell of his blood showed, he was very human, very mortal.

Of course, in his darker times, nobody would have accused Kurt to work with a slayer. Back then he had killed a slayer. And back then... Well, to make it short, Cooper Anderson's brother was very lucky not to have met him at his worst.

The lucky boy in question was now standing awkwardly in the living room, waiting for Kurt to follow him.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked, gesturing to the bottle of lemonade standing on the couch table. "I think Cooper also has beer somewhere."

"Thanks, no," Kurt said. "Just water." It was hard for him to stomach human food, but he knew it was a bit suspicious to just sit around without drinking anything.

"Okay, I'll be right back," the boy said. "Sit down."

As Kurt took a seat on the couch, he wondered just how awkward this was going to get. But it was only for a short while. He would excuse himself before the slayer returned, would then ask the boy not to tell his brother he'd been here, and then... Then he would think of the best way to use this opening he'd just gotten.

In darker times, there wouldn't have been deliberation. His enemy's house, with a member of said enemy's family right here, defenseless and clueless? He would have left a blood bath.

 _Hail Mary full of grace_...

He could almost hear the child's voice in his ears. Never again. There were other ways to show he was serious.

"Are you okay?"

Kurt looked up in surprise. He hadn't noticed the boy returning.

"Just thinking," he said.

"Here's your water," the boy said and sat down beside him.

For a while, they were silent, and Kurt pretended to look at the TV. Some girls were running around in ridiculous dresses, presenting themselves to some sort of jury. Television was something else he'd never really gotten into.

"What is this even?" he asked.

"An ANTM rerun," Blaine said. "Forgot the season." He frowned once he noticed Kurt's confusion. "Wait, you don't know America's Next Top model? And you don't have a cell? What century are you from again?"

"Late nineteenth, turn of the century, why?"

Blaine stared at him in disbelief, and for a second, Kurt wanted to bite off his tongue. Why had he said that? But then, Blaine started laughing. There was so much ease in the laughter, Kurt felt a bit lighter himself.

"You had me there for a second," he said. "Good one. But seriously, you said that with such a straight face, I almost believed it."

"Well, I've had some practice telling it," Kurt said. He wasn't quite sure what he was saying, really. He felt strange. But what was it? This feeling like he met this boy before? Or the smell of blood emanating from him, tantalizing and promising? Or maybe just the way his eyes lit up when he was laughing.

He needed to get a grip on himself, so he said the first thing he could think of.

"Tell me about it then. What's the point of this show?"

* * *

Kurt wasn't quite sure how long they had talked about this. He wasn't even sure this counted as a conversation topic. But somehow, he had actually enjoyed their conversation. The slayer's brother was surprisingly easy to talk to.

"So what are you doing here in Sunnydale?" Kurt asked eventually. "Visiting your brother?"

"Something like that," the boy said. "Not that I'm getting to see much of him..." There was a certain bitterness and frustration in his voice.

"He's busy a lot, isn't he?" Kurt guessed. The truth was that he didn't really know how the slayer spent his days and nights, but it made sense that there wasn't much time left to spend on guests, even on family.

"I never knew what he's really doing," the boy said. "I know he's a writer, but I always thought he was... you know, writing, from home. But he meets this weird woman from the community college, and his girlfriend, and this group of weird friends of his..."

"They're an acquired taste," Kurt commented.

The boy looked up at him, his eyes wide as if surprised. "They are," he agreed. "You think so too?"

Kurt shrugged. "Let's say we don't always get along," he said. He wasn't quite sure why he had shared that, it had just come naturally.

"I'm sure they're nice," the boy said. "It's just..." He stopped, biting his lips. "Never mind." He turned back to his bottle, taking a sip of his lemonade.

Kurt knew exactly what to do now. He should lean back, let the moment pass in silence, and eventually, he should say that he would come back some other time.

But their conversation had been the most engaging he'd had in a long time.

But the smell of his blood kept waving through the air, like a song he hadn't heard in a long time.

But there was this sense of familiarity when he looked at this boy.

But most importantly, Kurt knew the expression on his face, one of hopelessness, of loneliness, of being misunderstood. It was more than a lifetime ago that he had been mortal, but some wounds couldn't heal completely. At his darkest moments, the boy who vanished had been there to listen. Maybe now Kurt could listen to someone else.

"It's what?" he asked.

The boy – Blaine, he reminded himself, because what was the point of listening, if he didn't even remember his name? – looked at him cautiously, and eventually, he sighed and nodded. Maybe he too felt some of the familiarity, or maybe he just needed to share what was on his mind.

"I haven't visited Cooper a lot," he said. "Actually, I've never been to Sunnydale before. Cooper, he's... he's kind of the black sheep in he family. He first left to become an actor, instead of getting a business degree like our dad wanted. He only started writing when that didn't work out. And I... It wasn't exactly the brotherly thing to do, but I listened to my parents, so I wasn't in contact with him either. It was nice not to be the disappointment for once."

"They sound like charming people," Kurt said.

Again, Blaine bit his lip. "I tried to be the good son," he said. "I had a deal with them. I actually wanted to go into acting too. Musical theater."

"Really? That's still a thing?" Kurt asked.

Again, Blaine gave him that look somewhere between disbelief and pity. "It is," he said eventually.

Kurt had seen their rise, of course, and during his wild years, he had seen several shows. But then again, his memories of that time were hazy.

"Anyway, my parents didn't agree with me. I tried to see it from their perspective. I did. And I really wanted to prove them I could be good... that I could be more than a disappointment."

The second time that word had come up. "Why would you be a disappointment?" Kurt asked.

A moment of hesitation, and then... "I'm gay," Blaine said, looking down as if he just didn't want to see the reaction to this.

Maybe that was where the familiarity came from. "I've been there," Kurt said. "Hate to sound like a commercial, but it will get better." At least nobody had given him any serious trouble about his sexuality in decades.

Blaine looked at him with new found appreciation. "Thanks," he said. "Anyway, my parents and I made a deal. I was going to get a business degree, so I had something solid to fall back on, in case musical theater didn't work out. I even thought it made sense..."

"So what happened?" Kurt asked.

Blaine sighed. "Well, I went to college in Columbus, got my bachelor, and I figured that was my part of the deal, that I could start to do something I liked now. Turns out, they changed the terms of the deal. Said that either I'll work towards an MBA, or I work at Dad's business, or I could follow Cooper's example and be cut off completely."

"What did you do?" Kurt asked.

Blaine lowered his gaze. "At first I went to my boyfriend and suggested we just elope screw my parents and everything. Then I got dumped, because apparently, he wasn't actually serious about the relationship. So then, I came here to see Cooper. Thought he might have some ideas what to do now."

"And what did he say?" Kurt asked, genuinely curious now.

Blaine sighed. "Well, he did suggest I should tell dad to get lost... take my life into my own hands. He even offered to give me some money, to help me get started."

"That's generous. Your brother seems to care a lot about you," Kurt said.

Blaine's fingers started to play with the bottle etiquette, slowly tearing it off. "Does he? He thinks I should take his money and then go to New York, or maybe Canada, or even Europe – as long as it's far away from where he is."

"What?" Kurt looked at him in surprise. Of course, he wasn't exactly a friend of the slayer, but this sounded extremely callous.

Blaine shrugged. "He means well. I guess he just isn't a family person. I kind of knew that already. It's just..."

"Just what?" Kurt asked, careful to make his voice com out softly.

Blaine sighed. "I guess I hoped that we could be a family. We used to be really close, but then, he just broke off contact. And now, he's busy all the time. I guess I shouldn't have expected much. We haven't really been in touch since I was fifteen... right after I came out, make of that what you will."

Kurt looked at Blaine, tried to calculate his age. Early twenties, probably. At least ten years younger than Cooper. So when he was fifteen, then Cooper at about twenty-five... would have just received his calling as slayer. Kurt's eyes widened as he realized that it did make sense after all. Who would want to drag their family into the mess being a slayer brought? But obviously, that was not something to tell to someone uninitiated.

"You should talk to him about this before you jump to conclusions," he said instead. "Maybe there are other reasons."

"I guess," Blaine said, although he didn't seem convinced.

"Try," Kurt said, and even to his own surprise, he took the boy's hands. "There's enough crap happening in this world without making up things. I might not be your brother's biggest fan, but I'm sure you imagine things to be worse than they are. Besides, why would you even want to stay in Sunnydale? This place is awful. If I had a choice, I'd leave this place in a heart beat." At least he would, if he still had a heart beat. "Go to New York, that's where actual life takes place."

"What would I even do there?" Blaine asked softly.

"Give it a few years, you'll rule the city," Kurt said, his voice light and even slightly teasing.

At this, Blaine smiled – soft and sweet, and Kurt was sure it was genuine, not just out of politeness. It looked good on him, and Kurt could see how easily people would be charmed by this smile. Hell, it almost worked on him.

"Thank you," Blaine said, "I really mean it. You didn't have to listen to all this... but it's good to talk to somebody."

"It's not a problem," Kurt said, and to his surprise he actually meant it. It was easy to talk to Blaine. And most importantly, while many of his years as a vampire had left hazy memories, Kurt could still remember sharply how lonely he had been as a mortal, how relieving it was to finally have someone to talk to... Everyone should have that. What was wrong with the world that this charming boy had nobody who would listen to him? What was wrong with the slayer?

"Everybody needs to get things off their chest," Kurt said. "As I said, I've been there. I would have gone crazy if there hadn't been someone who listened to me. Well, some might say I still did... but it made things a lot less lonely."

"I think that's the hardest part of it," Blaine said softly. "That I don't really feel like I have people to rely on."

"Well, your parents are awful, your ex is an asshole, but your brother probably just needs a good kick to get his head in order. And you can always meet new people," Kurt said.

"Like you?" Blaine looked at him, his eyes wide open. Innocent, or maybe just curious. Again, that damn sense of déjà-vu, and Kurt wasn't sure whether this pull around his heart was just from those eyes, or from whatever memory he couldn't quite grasp.

It was silly, of course. And he could definitely not be the confidant of some boy, definitely not a boy who was only going to stay in Sunnydale for a short visit, and most importantly not the slayer's little brother. Why exactly did he even entertain that thought?

He opened his mouth, not even sure himself what was about to come out, when he heard it – the door opened.

Kurt froze, losing valuable seconds as the slayer's voice called out to Blaine. A moment later, the witch Quinn also could be heard. Both of them, fantastic. He wasted more moments berating himself how he could let this happen. He had not planned to confront the slayer in his own home. Not like this, not unprepared.

Was there enough time to break through the window and run that way?

But before he could consider, Cooper was standing in the door, his witch girlfriend following behind.

Fuck.

Blaine, blessedly ignorant of just what was happening in his brother's living room, stood up to greet them.

In a split second, Kurt made his decision.

Using his vampire speed, he lunged forward, grabbed the boy and pulled him close. On instinct, he put one hand on Blaine's head, holding it in a death grip. His claws dug into the boy's skin, breaking it to the point that droplets of blood emerged.

"Stay where you are," he shouted at Cooper and Quinn, "one move and brother dearest has a broken neck."

Both of them froze. Blaine tried to turn, to look at him, as if he could find answers in Kurt's face – and then, as the vampire let his fangs show, he did.

Even now, Kurt realized that this was a horrible idea, but he couldn't step back from it now. He had started it, he had to see it through. And if he played his cards right, the boy wouldn't be hurt. Well, not much. But most importantly, a threat once made needed to be carried out, or he would never be taken serious again.

At least the slayer seemed to take him serious though. He raised his hands, palms facing forward as if to show he was unarmed.

"Don't hurt him," he said. "How did you even get in here?"

"What do you think? I was invited," Kurt replied. "And this is a good opportunity for us to have a little chat, you and me."

"Chat? You break into my home, you take my brother hostage, and all of this for a chat? What the hell is wrong with you?!" Cooper yelled.

Before he answered, Kurt put more pressure on the nails he held on Blaine''s neck. A few, precious droplets of blood appeared, and Kurt felt his mouth water at the smell, even more delicious now that it was out in the open. "I don't like the tone," he said.

"Cooper?" Blaine's voice was shaky, higher than it had been before. It was clear panic. "I don't... what's _happening_?"

"Don't worry," Cooper said, and Kurt had to admire how calm he actually sounded. "Don't be afraid, I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you."

"If you want that, then maybe you should listen," Kurt said.

"Why are you doing this?" Blaine asked.

Kurt almost flinched when he heard the betrayal in his voice. But It was to late to step back.

"I don't exactly like how our... acquaintance has developed. I have a reputation to lose in Sunnydale. Not easy to maintain when people think I'm the lapdog for the damn slayer. So here's how this is going to go. Leave me the hell alone. I'm not your friend, not your buddy, not your ally, and definitely not one of your idiot college kids that you can command around. Consider our cooperation permanently terminated. If you need help, call someone else. But stay out of my business. Otherwise..."He let a finger stroke over the boy's throat, where his nails had pierced the skin and dawn blood. His eyes never leaving Cooper's, Kurt raised the finger to his lips, licking off the red liquid.

He knew immediately it had been a mistake. Not because of the way Cooper tensed, as if ready to pounce. Maybe it was the adrenaline, or the fact that he hadn't hunted the last two nights, or just maybe it was this taste, this somehow so familiar, delicious taste... But there was no way in hell he was going to let it go with just one drop.

"I'm not your pet, slayer," he growled. "Do you know what I am?"

"You're a demon," Cooper spat out.

"More specific," Kurt said.

"A vampire."

Blaine whimpered underneath his grip. But the call o the blood was too strong, the taste too tempting...

"And don't you forget it," Kurt hissed. Then, his eyes locked on Cooper, he opened his mouth and bit his fangs into the boy's throat.

Cooper cried out in the movement, but Kurt held Blaine's head, the silent threat still standing.

It was almost too much, the rush of blood, of _life_ gushing into his mouth, over his tongue, down his throat. The sharp taste of blood, always much stronger after he hadn't hunted for a while, and so much more rewarding than the stale blood he stole at the hospital. Even beyond that... he wasn't sure he had ever tasted blood like this. It reminded him darkly of the first blood he'd ever had, how every drop had tasted like pure ecstasy, more intense than anything he'd ever experienced. After decades, his taste wasn't as sharp as it had been now, and this wasn't quite as intense as that first taste. But hell, it was the best he'd had in ages. He could almost feel the blood run through its own veins, lighting them up, sending heat through every fiber of his being. This was it, as good as unlife could get. Looking up, he saw the slayer and his witch staring at him in horror, but locked in place, too scared of the way he held the boy's head, still ready to twist, to end it in a heart beat. Cooper was helpless, and he knew.

And Blaine...

Blaine screamed.

There were many different ways humans reacted to a vampire drinking their blood. For some it was unpleasant or painful. Some actually liked it, even got aroused by it. Kurt was sure that once he had a victim come during the feeding. But Blaine... his screams were pure agony.

It was shameful how long I took for those screams to pierce through the haze of blood. But when they did, Kurt felt as if the ground under his feet was crumbling.

 _Hail Mary..._

And here he was, just right back at where he'd been at his darkest points, attacking someone who'd been trusting, and kind... and for what? Just to prove a point? Or was it because the smell had been too tempting?

Kurt withdrew, carefully. In the corner of his eye, he could see tear tracks on the boys cheeks before he raised his eyes to face what he now felt sure would be his doom.

Cooper stared at him, an expression on his face that Kurt had never seen. He looked ten years older than before, his skin ashen, but the look in his eyes was very clear to read. Kurt had just signed his death warrant. Blaine's screams stopped, replaced by weak sobs, and he went still, just kept upright by the vampire holding him.

For the first time in his life, Kurt wished he had the ability to throw up. He couldn't even bring himself to look at the boy's face, too ashamed of himself to actually look at what he'd done. Even the smell of blood had lost its allure.

But regrets wouldn't change anything, would take nothing of what he'd just done back. The egg was broken, all he could do now was try to make sure the omelet was worth it.

"Remember this," Kurt said softly. "I'm not your friend. I'm not even your ally. _This_ is what I am."

Cooper stared at him, still unable to form a word. But behind him, Quinn was not frozen in shock. Her hands were slowly, casually moving to her purse, and who knew what kind of witchcraft she had in there? Holy water, probably. He had to get out now.

His eyes on the couple in front of him, Kurt changed his grip on the boy and waited for the instant that Cooper blinked. Then, he pushed. Blaine almost flew through the room, and Kurt stopped long enough until he saw Cooper move to catch his brother. Quinn, too, was moving, but she was too slow to be dangerous for a vampire. Kurt turned around, and ran towards the window. Behind him, he heard the impact of Blaine being caught, and then all he could hear was himself crashing through the window. He could feel glass shards cutting his skin open, but he had no time to pay attention to it. The slayer would be distracted for only a short moment, and Kurt had to get away from him as fast as possible.

He didn't stop running until he had reached the cemetery, and hardly had a moment to think. When he stopped and finally calmed down, only one thought kept running through his head.

What had he done?

Teaching the slayer a lesson... how could he ever thought that was a good idea? Well, in his defense, he hadn't planned for a confrontation tonight. But it had happened. And what had he done? Attacked the slayer's little brother. Was there any worse way he could have handled this? Of course, the slayer was going to hunt him down now. How could he have been so stupid?

For now, he had to take care of his own safety. The slayer knew where his refuge was, so Kurt first had to make sure he wouldn't be there by day light. He knew of another hideout, one Sebastian had said he'd stayed at before. For once that bastard's big mouth turned out to be useful.

He hurried to pack his things, and tried his best not to think of the boy he had attacked. Blaine... not the boy he had remembered, but still a boy that had shown him vulnerability and trust. And once more, Kurt had ruined it before it could even begin.

With a sigh, Kurt ran a hand through his hair. He felt actually guilty, didn't he? But why? This wasn't the first time he had attacked someone. Sure, this had been stupid, but his guilt wasn't about his own predicament.

He thought of the boy's screams. He had never put someone in this much agony, had he? Or was that the norm and his memory was just unreliable? Did he feel this bad because Blaine had seemed familiar? Or did he feel guilty because he had actually enjoyed talking to him?

Either way, it didn't matter. Blaine Anderson was going to leave Sunnydale and move to New York. In the city that never sleeps, the demons of Sunnydale would be nothing but a distant nightmare. He would be fine, eventually.

At least, that's what Kurt tried to tell himself. For now, he needed to get out of here.

* * *

"I will kill him."

Cooper spoke softly as to not spook Blaine who was just starting to calm down. He had laid out his brother on the couch, sitting by his legs while Quinn sat by his head, pressing down clean tissue on the bite wound. The red blood stains on the white material just kept bringing home how much Cooper had failed.

Blaine's eyes were closed, and there was still the occasional tear running down his cheek, but his breathing had calmed down. He hadn't spoken yet, probably still too shocked. How could he not be?

Cooper sighed, and put his head between his hands. He was shaking, worse than he had in ages, definitely worse than he had reacted when he himself had been in near-death situations. But this was different. This was Blaine, his little brother. Cooper had tried to protect him from all this – the darkness, the demons, even _knowing_ about it all. He had kept his distance, just to keep his brother safe. It had all come crashing down around them. This was Cooper's failure. But he would not let that monster get away with it.

"I will kill him," he said again. "Right now." He felt numb as he stood up and walked out of the living room. This was easy, he knew how to do this. Hunt the demon, destroy it, and pretend that would solve everything. He could do this... he was _good_ at this... He went to the cupboard where he hid his stakes away and grabbed several. But when he turned around, he found himself face to face with his girlfriend.

"Cooper Jay Anderson, you will stay _right_ where you are," Quinn said. Her voice, too, was soft, but there was steel underneath. He couldn't have ignored her if he tried. He was sure she'd make an amazing mom some day – and almost flinched when he remembered there actually was a little girl out there, one that Quinn hardly knew.

"I'm going to kill him," Cooper said. "Don't tell me he doesn't deserve it. That bastard attacked my brother-"

"And your brother doesn't need you to go on a rampage," Quinn replied. "He needs you to take care of him now. He's in shock, in pain, and he just found out that demons are real. You can go hunting any other time. You wanted to be there for him, for god's sake, Cooper! Now go and _be there for him_!"

For a few moments, Cooper managed to hold on to his fury, but it dissolved in the face of Quinn's resolve. He deflated, and just allowed the feeling of defeat in, instead of fighting it.

"I don't know what to do," he said.

Quinn sighed, and then she put her arms around him, pulling him closed. He sagged forward, and buried his face in her hair.

"I wanted to protect him. Twenty-three years, Quinn. For twenty-three years I tried everything to protect him. And now?"

"You can't protect him forever," Quinn replied. "The demons are here, even if we don't know about them. So he found out, he got terribly hurt. You can't take it back. You can only be there for him, help him make sense of it. Now you walk into that room, and you talk to your brother. I'll try to get hold of Sue, figure out a way to get this house protected. I've got this. You go and take care of Blaine."

He hugged her tighter for a moment, but then he stepped away from her and walked back into the living room.

Blaine was sitting on the couch by now, the tissues still held firmly against his throat. He was pale, still shaking, and when their eyes met, he looked so lost and helpless... Cooper walked closer and sat down beside him. Carefully, he took hold of the tissues and checked if there was still blood leaking. It looked alright for a moment, but then it started oozing again, so he pressed down again, careful not to hurt him.

"How are you holding up?" Cooper asked softly.

"Don't know," Blaine replied. His voice sounded a bit higher than usual. "I'm okay?" It was more of a question than a statement.

"You don't have to be," Cooper said. "I'd actually be a bit relieved if you were in shock and not okay after this. Not that I don't want you to be okay. It's just... more natural."

"Oh," Blaine said, looking down. "Well, you can be relieved then." He sighed and raked a shaking hand through his hair. "So... vampires?"

"Vampires," Cooper replied.

"And demons?"

"Demons, too."

"Does prayer actually keep them at bay?" Blaine asked.

"What?" Cooper looked at him in confusion.

"It's what you used to say when I was a kid, remember?" Blaine asked. The corners of his mouth quirked upwards. "That praying would keep the demons away?"

"Oh." Cooper remembered of course, he just hadn't expected Blaine to still know it. "Yeah, it does. Well, sometimes."

"He called you Slayer," Blaine continued. "What's that?"

Cooper sighed. "That's a... really long, really ugly story."

"It's your story, isn't it?" Now Blaine looked up at him, maybe a bit calmer, but definitely serious. "I want to hear it, then."

"Okay," Cooper said, nodding. He lean back against the couch, pulling Blaine along, and put an arm over his brother's shoulders, before he propped up his legs on the couch. It reminded him of growing up in Ohio, and playing the role of the omniscient older brother. Well, one more show then.

"It all started about eight years ago..."


	7. The Damsel In Distress, Part I

_**Summary:** Six times Blaine Anderson needed rescuing - and one time he saved the day_

 _Notes: So, this has been some time. Though in my defense, I did graduate from university in the meantime. This story directly follows the previous one, "Let The Right One In" and portrays how Blaine finds his footing in Sunnydale. Also, how Kurt managed not to get murdered by Cooper._

 _Also, I hope the line breaks aren't too confusing, somehow and I don't agree on formating anymore... Anyway, on with the story._

 _Cooper, the Vampire Slayer_

 **The Damsel in Distress, Part 1 _  
_**

One evening, and everything Blaine had known had fallen apart.

Downstairs, he could hear the weird, Latin chanting from Quinn and Sue, and the smell of the herbs they were burning was wafting through the house. They were casting a spell. Magic was real, his brother's girlfriend was a witch, and at the moment she was casting a spell to revoke the invitation that Blaine had accidentally given to a vampire.

Because all that was true, as well.

Vampires were real, demons were real, prayer didn't always keep them back, and his brother was the Chosen One.

Blaine gathered the blankets closer around him as he shuddered, even under the warmth of Sunnydale's nights. For how long had he thought that Cooper had just stopped caring about him? And now it turned out that all this time, Cooper had cut him off intentionally, to protect Blaine from the darkness in his life.

And now?

Kurt, the vampire, had torn away all veils and shown him just what was lurking out there. Blaine still felt the pain in his throat – just a shadow of how agonizing the vampire's bite had been. He didn't want to look at it, to see just how dark the bruise would be.

Vampires...

His first instinct had been to run. He should leave Sunnydale and never return, possibly forget it even existed, forget everything about demons and vampires...

"Hey, are you okay?"

Blaine looked up to see Cooper standing in the door to his room. The guest room, he reminded himself, there was no point getting used to this place.

"It's just a bit much," Blaine said. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep much."

"I figured," Cooper said. He walked over and sat down on the bed. "But the spell is almost complete. Once it's ready, the invitation is revoked. Kurt won't get in here again. He won't get to hurt you ever again."

Blaine felt a shudder running down his spine. Something told him that Cooper would be wrong about that.

"We can look at flights tomorrow," Cooper said. "I'm sure you'll want to get out of here as soon as possible. We can figure out somewhere for you to go, I've got he money. It will be okay."

Blaine bit his lip, trying to figure out why he felt so upset at this. It was what he wanted, to get away from all this. He'd never think of vampires and demons again. He had that option, and he knew he should take it and run. He had nothing to do with this.

Cooper didn't have that option. He was the Chosen One. How much had he given up? His acting career... the place he wanted to live at... their relationship as brothers... and all of it to keep the world safe, and to have his little brother still believe that the monsters under his bed didn't exist.

But now Blaine knew. How could he go back to a normal life when he knew that demons existed? How could he go to New York or anywhere else, now that he knew that his brother was risking his life every night?

Again, Blaine shuddered.

Cooper seemed to misunderstand and pulled the blankets closer around him. "You'll be alright. In a few days, this will be far behind you."

And suddenly, it made sense.

"No."

Cooper looked puzzled. "What do you mean, no?"

"I'm not leaving," Blaine said. "I'll stay here."

"What? No, you won't," Cooper protested. "What would you even do here?"

"College, I guess," Blaine said. "Sunnydale has a community college, doesn't it?"

"You're not staying here," Cooper said. "It's too dangerous!"

And that was exactly the wrong thing to say if he wanted Blaine to leave.

"We'll talk tomorrow," Blaine said. "But for now, I'm staying with you."

"This is not over," Cooper said. He looked alarmed, and it was hard to blame him. Blaine could imagine that this was the last thing Cooper wanted. It wasn't what Blaine himself wanted either. But demons were real, and Cooper had to be staying here fighting them. It wasn't even an actual choice.

"We'll see," Blaine said softly. "We will see.."

* * *

 **The first time**

* * *

Kurt couldn't remember a time when he had been this paranoid. He had brought this onto himself, of course, but it was exhausting. Every other night, he moved to another hideout. Fortunately, both Sebastian and Elliot had known several places to take refuge, and Kurt had remembered most of them.

Well, now he needed them. Attacking the slayer's little brother had definitely been the dumbest thing he'd ever done, unless getting himself turned into a vampire counted. But he couldn't change it, so he needed to live with the consequences. And the first step was to keep the lowest profile he could manage. He wasn't sure if Cooper would actively hunt him down, but he definitely wouldn't risk stepping under the slayer's nose.

The smart thing to do would be to leave Sunnydale, of course. But once he crossed the borders, he'd be back on the radar of his vampire lord, and without either leverage or something powerful to appease her, Kurt would want to meet Lady Isabelle even less than he'd like to meet Cooper Anderson.

Still, the most pressing problem he had at the moment was neither of them. The thing that he really worried about was his hunger. He couldn't hunt as freely as he used to, not if he wanted to stay hidden from Cooper. He wasn't sure he was safe right now, but if he didn't get some blood into his system soon, things would completely spiral out of control.

This would just be a very short excursion. All Kurt needed was to find a lonely, defenseless human and get some blood, then he'd return to his lair. It wasn't a long term solution, but it would have to do until he either found a way to get the slayer off his back or get his demon lord to forgive him.

Kurt's thoughts were interrupted when he heard jeering. He rolled his eyes when he recognized the voices. They were members of a coven of lesser vampires, and they'd always been a nuisance. Simple curiosity made Kurt take a look around to localize them and see what they were up to. There were two of them, and one of them was holding up a human, probably their victim for the night.

It shouldn't matter. This wasn't his business, and since when did he care about idiot Sunnydale kids getting themselves killed by vampires anyway? The answer was he didn't.

He was about to turn away when he caught a glimpse of the unfortunate human.

Of all people in Sunnydale, how could it possibly be him? Then again, this was Sunnydale. Who else could it have been?

Held by a vampire there was none other than Blaine Anderson. He was deadly pale, and obviously terrified. Kurt couldn't help himself, he was moving closer before he had even made a decision.

"So, little bunny, ready for a little midnight snack?" one of the vampires said.

"Let me go!" Blaine was struggling against the vampire's hold, but it was obvious he didn't stand a chance.

"But you _are_ our midnight snack," the vampire holding him said, as if that was some sort of witty remark. His friend at least seemed to think so and started laughing.

Blaine looked as if he was trapped in a nightmare. His eyes were wide, he was visibly shaking, and Kurt thought he could see tear tracks on his face. But at this brilliant remark, some fire returned to his eyes.

"Go to hell," he hissed.

"No, _you're_ going to hell!" the vampire laughed.

Kurt was moving before he had even made a decision. He started with the one not holding the boy, ripping off the head before the idiot even noticed something had happened. The other one screamed as if he was a little girl. In that one moment of confusion, Blaine managed to break free. The boy tumbled down, and Kurt used the moment to surge forward and get rid of the second vampire.

Not so bad. Kurt turned around, soaring from the quick victory.

Blaine was still on the ground, his face a mixture of fear and hatred. Kurt could see in his eyes what he had seen a million times – a perfect image of the fight or flight question. Right now, Blaine was considering his options. Did he have a better chance running or fighting?

Suddenly, Kurt didn't feel triumphant anymore.

Before Blaine had made a decision, Kurt grabbed his hand and pulled him into a standing position.

"Sunnydale is dangerous at night," Kurt said, "didn't your brother tell you that much at least? Why are you even still here?"

Blaine tore from his grip. It would have been easy to keep him in hold, but he had no reason to.

"You... don't you dare talk to me like that," Blaine said.

"I just saved your life," Kurt said. Of course, it was a weak argument. Blaine had every right to be pissed at him.

Blaine looked at him full of contempt. "Really? Because what they threatened me with... you've actually _done_ that to me, so don't you dare act like a hero!"

It felt like a bucket of cold water, though really, he should have seen it coming.

"I never said I was one," Kurt said, but there wasn't much fire in it.

"Right, you've been completely honest about who or what you are from the beginning," Blaine snapped back.

Damn, this one really knew how to land a blow.

"So why are you even still here? You should be in New York," Kurt said, almost at a loss for words.

"And you should mind your own business," Blaine said.

Kurt opened his mouth, not sure what to say, but very sure that he wanted to defend himself – but then, another voice called out.

"Hey! Get the hell away from him!"

Cooper.

Definitely time to run, and fast. Before he left, he could see the relief in Blaine's eyes as his brother was cominng closer. Good for him, he should get to feel safe – and maybe now he'd realize that his best chance for that would be to leave Sunnydale and never come back.

* * *

 **The second time**

* * *

Blaine felt exhausted, as he stepped out of the building and onto the campus of Sunnydale community college, but still, he was content.

How much time had he wasted studying for a business degree he had never actually wanted, just to placate his parents? The college in Sunnydale wasn't prestigious, and there had to be hundreds of better schools in the country. But one week here had been better than all those semesters he had spent in Columbus.

Most of it had to be due to the fact that he could finally study something he loved. His parents had thrown a fit when he had told them he had decided on music, but it didn't matter anymore. Cooper paid for his school, and they finally didn't have a say in his life anymore.

So maybe it wasn't just about music, maybe it was also because he was finally free. He hadn't even known how much he had longed for this. He could do what he wanted to do, and be the person he wanted to be. No more hiding.

Of course, he would enjoy it so much more if he wasn't in Sunnydale with all its secrets and demons.

A shudder went through him as he remembered the pain of those fangs piercing his skin, how all sensation had been focused onto that one spot of his throat, and all sensation had turned into pain...

No. He would not revisit that moment anymore than necessary – bad enough that he still had nightmares about it. Vampires existed, they scared him, but they would not control the course of his life. Besides, they were creatures of the night, and right now, it was still afternoon. By the time he'd have to worry about vampires, he'd be safe in Cooper's house, secured again by Sue's spell. No demon could touch him there, including Kurt.

"You okay, dude? You seem kind of out of it..."

Blaine looked up, when he heard the voice of Sam, another student. "I'm fine," he said, "just lost in thought."

It had been a week, and there hadn't been much time to make friends yet. But so far, Blaine felt he and Sam might get along pretty well. The two of them were the oldest freshmen, both on their second shot at college. Sam had told him he had first pursued a career in modeling, but eventually decided he'd rather get a college education and get into teaching.

"By the way, do you want to hang out some time after school?" Sam asked. "I've got new games, we should totally try them."

"Sounds great," Blaine said, "though maybe not today. Cooper is waiting for me. Weekend maybe?" Or any option that didn't require him to walk through Sunnydale at night...

"Cool," Sam said. "I have to go, football practice. See you around?"

"Yea, see you tomorrow!"

They waved and Blaine made his way to the bus stop. It was a bit inconvenient. Cooper had a car, but he needed it today himself, some sort of meeting with his agent. He had even mentioned getting a second car just for Blaine, but that seemed like too much. College was expensive enough, he didn't want to ruin his brother financially... And how successful exactly where his books that he could just consider buying another car?

Unfortunately, Blaine had been too deep in thought. As he looked up, he could just see the bus drive away. Great, he'd have to wait.

With a sigh, Blaine checked the bus schedule. One hour... He considered what to do. Cooper probably wasn't done with his appointment, but if he was, maybe he could pick him up here? It was worth a try. He sent a short text asking Cooper if he could possibly pick him up at college, and then sat down, ready to wait.

He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there. All he knew was that at one point, a bell-like laughter sounded right beside him. Surprised, Blaine looked up to find himself opposite another boy.

This other boy looked about his age, maybe younger. He was slender, with bright blond hair and eyes so bright blue that they hardly held any color at all. His skin was pale, without blemishes and looking so soft, like Kurt's had been...

The thought alone served like a bucket of cold water and woke Blaine from the almost trance-like fascination he had sunken into. He would not allow room for that demon in his thoughts.

The boy looked at him in confusion, and suddenly Blaine felt like an idiot. How long had he been sitting here staring at a stranger?

"Sorry, do I know you?" Blaine asked. It wasn't very eloquent, but it was an improvement.

The other boy laughed again, and Blaine felt his heart beat accelerate at the sound. It felt so happy and light...

"You're distracted, yes?" the boy asked.

His voice, too, sounded like the ringing of a bell. Beautiful. There was no other word for it.

"Have we met before?" Blaine asked. He was sure he'd remember this boy, but the stranger looked at him with so much familiarity...

"Not yet," the boy said. "Or maybe in your dreams?"

"Right, that doesn't sound creepy at all," Blaine said, although he noticed the words didn't hokd as much sarcasm as they should have.

Again, that laughter. Blaine couldn't help the smile forming on his face in response. How else could he react to laughter like this, soft and like sunshine, and warm... Blaine felt more relaxed than he had in a very long time. When had he ever been this comfortable here in Sunnydale? Or even before? But now he felt... calm, at home...

The boy took his hand, and everything felt warm and soft. Blaine smiled so wide that his face almost hurt, but it didn't matter. He was sitting with the most beautiful boy he'd ever seen. What could be more important than that?

"You should come with me," the boy said.

Something wasn't right here. There was this tiny voice at the back of his head that told Blaine that he should be careful. This was Sunnydale, and it was dangerous, and didn't he mean to go somewhere? He didn't even know this boy... not even his name, he suddenly realized.

"Who are you?" he asked, but even speaking the words felt hard. He was a bit tired, but just so comfortable... As a kid, he and Cooper had spent Christmas Eve sitting in front of the fireplace, waiting for Santa until they drifted off to sleep. Now, he felt just like that. Warm, happy, safe and comfortable...

"Come with me," the stranger repeated. "Come, I can show you happiness."

Blaine felt himself nodding, even as he wondered why. Something was up here... something important that he needed to remember... But he just couldn't grasp what it was...

The boy looked at him, angelic and perfect, and laughed again his bell-like laughter. When he stood up, Blaine rose himself, without ever actively deciding to do so.

"Will you come with me?" the boy asked.

Blaine's mouth opened, and he knew what he was going to do. His eyes trained on the beautiful boy, he got ready to say the most important words of his life...

A point of red appeared on the boy's throat, and suddenly, all the warmth disappeared. When Blaine blinked again, he didn't see the creature of beauty and warmth. All that was left was a thin, white-skinned and white-eyed boy, with a bleeding wound in his throat. As the boy collapsed, Blaine saw Cooper standing right behind him, a short silver blade in his hand.

"W-what...?" Blaine's head felt clouded, as if he was waking up after surgery. He wasn't sure his legs would hold him, but just as he stumbled, Cooper stepped forward and hugged him.

"Are you alright?" his brother asked.

"What just happened?" Blaine knew his voice was higher than usual, but with the sensation of comfort gone, he suddenly felt cold and scared. He looked again at the boy, but to his horror there wasn't much left – the body dissolved into a silvery puddle. "What was that?" It couldn't be a vampire. It was before sunset, he had been so careful...

"A siren," Cooper said. "The one we've been hunting for a while. Did it hurt you? Are you okay?"

"A bit confused," Blaine said. "How did you find me?"

"You texted me to pick you up," Cooper said. "Two hours ago, and you didn't answer your phone. I got worried."

"I wasn't here for two hours," Blaine said. He wasn't sure of a lot right now, but that was clearly absurd.

"I'm afraid you were," Cooper said, holding up his own watch.

Blaine stared at the numbers, unable to grasp what he was seeing. "I don't understand..."

Cooper shook his head. "Sirens confuse their prey to lure them back to their hideout. It's not your fault, it's dark magic, very hard to resist."

It was probably all very logical, but right now, Blaine couldn't understand a word of it. What he did understand was that though Cooper's words were kind, there was a certain tone of reproach to them.

"Come on," Cooper said. "Get into the car, Blaine. We're going home."

Blaine was too tired to protest, so he complied. In the car, he let his head lean against the window, his eyes drifting close.

Sirens. Of course, those existed too. And obviously, Sunnydale wasn't only dangerous at night. He probably should have expected this. But if he was in danger all the time, how was he supposed to do this? What would happen if next time Cooper didn't get his text in time? Would he get eaten by a monster the second Cooper was distracted?

What was he doing in Sunnydale? It had all seemed so clear... but now he wasn't so sure. He had wanted to support Cooper, to help him... and of course, there was a bit of selfishness. But was he doing the right thing?

"Do you have any idea how lucky you were?"

Blaine blinked in confusion at Cooper's voice. His brother sounded so irritated, almost angry...

"You were about to go with that thing... You know what would have happened, right?"

Blaine frowned, trying to stay awake and concentrated enough for this conversation. "It would have killed me?" he said. It was a guess, but this was Sunnydale, and apparently everything wanted to kill you here.

"It would have eaten you," Cooper said. "With his whole family. Great comfy family dinner. Happened to at least three other kids yet this month alone, we only found the bones."

A shudder went down Blaine's spine. Not pleasant. "I didn't know about it," he said. "You don't exactly tell me what you're doing."

Cooper sighed, and all the anger and frustration disappeared from his voice, leaving only a sad, soft resignation. "I'm not telling you because I don't want you involved in all this. I can take care of myself, and so can the others. But you... you shouldn't be here, Blaine. You can't fight them, you don't know how to protect yourself... There's a reason I never told you about any of this. I wanted you to stay away from it."

"Well, that boat has sailed, hasn't it?" Blaine said. The haze he'd been in was starting to dissipate, and he felt a familiar sense of frustration. "I'm here, I'm staying, you'll have to learn to live with it."

He tried to sound confident, but he was well aware that Cooper had to do no such thing. His brother could kick him out anytime. Of course, he wouldn't do it. Cooper felt too bad about the years they hadn't been in contact. And Blaine himself felt just as bad about all those times when he had thought his brother had forgotten him, while Cooper had been here, risking his life to make the world a safer place...

In a way, ignorance had been a bliss. But now that he knew the truth, how could he turn his back?

"This isn't working, Blaine," Cooper said. He sounded just as tired as Blaine felt. "I can't look over my shoulder every second because I'm afraid something might happen to you. I can't be here to save you all the time."

Blaine closed his eyes, letting his head fall back against the head rest. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "But I can't just leave."

Cooper looked at him for a long time. "I just want you to be safe," he said eventually.

"I know," Blaine said.

They both fell silent, too absorbed in their own pessimistic thoughts. As much as Blaine hated it, he knew that Cooper had a point. He _was_ helpless. He couldn't defend himself. Sure, he knew how to box, but he didn't actually know how to fight. As the slayer, Cooper was stronger than a normal human being could dream of. Quinn was a witch, growing more powerful every week, and even Tina as an apprentice witch could take better care of herself than he did. Mike was a martial arts expert. And no monster could even hope to survive an encounter with the watcher, Sue Sylvester. What could Blaine really bring to the table, except being a target? He had wanted to support Cooper... but was he? Or was he making things worse? Maybe he really didn't belong here... but then again, had he ever?

"Hey, Blaine?"

He looked up as Cooper spoke, only now realizing he had almost drifted off to sleep. "Hm?"

"I'm glad you're okay," Cooper said.

"I'm glad you came. Thank you," Blaine said.

There was more Cooper wanted to say, but this wasn't the time to discuss it – how things were going to continue, what they were going to do – so he just shook his head. "Get some sleep. We'll figure it out, eventually."

* * *

 **The third time**

* * *

Blaine cursed himself as he stepped out of the campus gym. It was already dark outside, of course. It had been such a nice day that he'd taken the bike to college and his plan had been to leave campus early enough to come home before sunset. Too bad he had forgotten time while he was taking out his frustrations on a sandbag, and now he was effectively stranded on campus.

Stupid... how hard was that Sunnydale rule to not walk around after dark? And Cooper already doubted he was responsible enough to deal with this place and all its demons...

The smart thing would be to call Cooper and ask to be picked up, or at least to call a cab. The absolutely last thing he should do was to get on his bike and hope for he best, chances were he would get himself killed. No, he'd much rather listen to a lecture about the dangers of Sunnydale.

Decision made, he took out his cell phone and began searching through his contacts for his brother's number in the dim light of a street lamp. He had just found it, when a shadow fell over the display.

Blaine looked up in annoyance, only to find himself face to face with one of the football players. He didn't know the guy, but the jacket was easy enough to recognize.

"Yeah, can I help you?" Blaine asked.

The guy stared at him in a way that made Blaine slightly uncomfortable. Then, he grinned, revealing a pair of fangs. "You're the brother."

Blaine froze. Vampire. But how? He was still on campus... "This is supposed to be a safe space," he said, a weak and pointless protest.

The vampire frowned at him, clearly not understanding what he was talking about. Then he shrugged, as if it didn't matter. "Of all the people I could stumble across..."

"How do you even know who I am?" Blaine asked.

"Our leader knows everything there is to know about the slayer," the vampire said. "He'll reign over this town, once he's taken care of your brother, and that blood traitor doing his bidding. This town will be ours. You can't imagine what it will look like. It will be magnificent. Not that you'll be alive to see it... You'll be long gone by then. Just wait and see till I bring you to my sire. He'll reward me..."

Despite his fear from the vampire, Blaine couldn't help but notice that he really seemed to like the sound of his own voice. But maybe this could give him the time he needed... He still had his phone. Praying that Cooper would answer, he pressed the call button.

* * *

Kurt had run out of luck. He had played with fire often enough, but in a way, he had known his nights were numbered the second he put a hand on Blaine Anderson. Now, it was time to pay. He had tried hiding, but he should have known that eventually Cooper would find him in one of those hideouts.

And now, here they were. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. He was at the end of the corridor, and Cooper blocked his only exit. It was over. All that was left to do was to turn around and face the music.

"You can't run anymore," the slayer said. "You won't touch him ever again."

"I saved his life!" Kurt yelled. He wasn't sure whether this would gain him any points, or if begging had any chance of success – but he had come too far to die now because he wouldn't risk his pride. "The other night, when you saw me with him? I had just taken care of two vampires about to kill him."

"He told me what happened," Cooper replied, "and it doesn't matter."

"Think about this – killing me isn't going to change anything," Kurt said. He hated sounding pleading, but with the way Cooper was glaring at him, there wasn't really much else he could do.

"If this makes my brother feel safer here, then it's worth it," Cooper replied.

"Why is he even here? Sunnydale is the least safe place in the world! Why would you keep him here anyway?"

"Shut up!"

He was running out of things to say. But right then, he was saved by the thing he'd expect the least – the annoying music from a cellphone. To his surprise, Cooper actually halted his attack, hesitating for a moment, and then, his eyes still trained on Kurt, he took out the phone and tapped on it.

For a moment, Kurt wondered why Cooper would choose this moment to answer the phone, but then he understood.

"Blaine? You okay?"

Somehow, Cooper must have known it was his brother on the phone. How ironic would it be if his life would somehow be saved by Blaine Anderson of all people?

The flash of relief died instantly, when screaming erupted from the device. He caught a jumble of words, among them "Cooper!", and "Help!" , before the line went dead.

Cooper had paled, his eyes wide, and a look on confusion on his face. And while he might feel sorry for the boy, Kurt knew that this was an opportunity he couldn't afford not to take.

"You won't help your brother killing me. You want to save him? Go and save him!"

"I don't know where he is," Cooper said, his voice breaking.

Humans and their lousy hearing...

"Vampires by the gym on campus," Kurt repeated the few useful words he had caught. "You should run."

Cooper hesitated only for a fraction of a second, then he turned, and ran.

Kurt leaned back against the wall, as his knees felt weak. This had been close. He had actually almost died tonight...

The sad thing was, Cooper would most likely be too late to save his brother. If he was cornered by vampires, then he might already be dead – unless they had realized he was the slayer's brother and understood how valuable a hostage he could be. Unfortunately, most vampires here in Sunnydale were lesser beings, and probably too dumb to realize their opportunity. Not that using this opportunity had worked out too well for Kurt himself...

A part of him wanted to run far away and pray to not run into Cooper anytime soon. But his curiosity was too much. He had almost found his death over Blaine Anderson. He had to find out how this ended.

* * *

Cooper knew there was no way he'd reach the campus in time. The second he jumped into his car, he yelled at his phone to call Sue. If anybody had a chance to get to Blaine and prevent the worst, it was her.

It seemed to take hours, but eventually, she answered.

"And there we have Anderson the Elder. Now what is it you want?"

"Blaine is being attacked by vampires on campus!" Cooper yelled at her. "He needs help!"

There was a snort from the other end of the line. "Impressive. That's three mistakes in one sentence. And here I thought language was how you pay your bills?"

"What?!"

"One, it's past tense. He was being attacked. Not anymore. Two, it's vampir _e_ , not vampir _es_. Singular. And three, Little Lord Fauntleroy doesn't need help, he needs a watch so he remembers to go home on time, and not wait until I'm getting ready for my personal cocktail hour."

It took Cooper embarrassingly long until he filtered out the important information. "Wait... he's okay?"

"I've taken care of it," Sue said. "I expect you here in a few minutes to take him off my hands. I do have other plans."

"Get him on the phone, please," Cooper said.

There was another snort from Sue, and then, he heard his brother.

"Cooper?"

"Are you hurt?" His voice was harsher than he intended, but he couldn't help it.

"No, I'm... I'm okay. Sue was there."

Cooper sighed in relief. Blaine really was safe. But even as the relief settled in, he could feel anger flaring up. "What were you even still doing there?" he asked, his voice again too sharp even to his own ears.

"I'm sorry..."

"Just stop. I'll... I'll see you in a few minutes," Cooper said. "Just stay with Sue. You're safe with her."

Maybe it was a good thing it would take him a bit until he arrived on campus. Blaine was probably scared enough, he didn't need Cooper yelling at him. The sad thing was that he knew he wasn't actually angry at Blaine. He was scared that his brother might get killed. But how was he supposed to deal with this? How was he supposed to deal with his brother being in constant danger?

He wasn't sure how long it would take to find an answer. He just knew that he wouldn't find it before he arrived.

* * *

Kurt had arrived on campus only shortly after Cooper did. The scene he found wasn't nearly as disastrous as he had expected. Blaine Anderson looked pale and scared, but completely unscathed. Sue Sylvester was standing beside him, looking utterly bored with everything, and Cooper seemed to be unable to decide whether he wanted to hug the kid or yell at him.

Well, that was all Kurt needed to know. There was no need to stay longer and risk getting caught. He had escaped Cooper's wrath once already, but he might not be this lucky next time.

Speaking of lucky, Blaine Anderson had to be the luckiest person in Sunnydale... or unluckiest, seeing in how much trouble he had gotten in already. Though maybe tonight was the push he needed to realize that Sunnydale wasn't the best place to be. And maybe if he left, his brother would calm down and end his revenge trip.

Either way, Kurt needed more of a long term solution if he wanted to stay in Sunnydale.

* * *

 **The fourth time**

* * *

Sunnydale was a horrible place, there was no way around it. It hadn't even been two months and Blaine already felt tired out by this city. Vampires, witches, sirens... and now faeries.

He never had expected faeries to be something one had to be afraid of. But judging from Cooper's and Quinn's reaction, actual faeries apparently didn't have much in common with Tinkerbell. Even Sue seemed to think this was a big deal, although there was only one faery that had come to Sunnydale.

"Their world moves around and through ours," Quinn had explained to him and Tina. "It's close now, and sometimes, portals open between the worlds. When we have really bad luck, something passes through them."

"Still, all this trouble for one single creature?" Tina had asked sceptically.

"You never met one of them," Quinn had replied.

It had been days since then, and though the whole gang was spread out trying to find the creature, they hadn't been successful so far.

The most infuriating thing was that Blaine still didn't feel like a part of the group. He wasn't involved in finding the faery, nor did he get to do research with Quinn and Tina. Cooper insisted that he was informed about the current dangers, but never got involved. It wasn't that Blaine wanted to deal with monsters and demons. But this way he knew about them, he knew the people fighting them, and still, he wasn't able to do a thing about it. He knew Cooper was just trying to protect him, but he felt so frustrated...

Quinn was right now devising a spell to find the faery, Tina and Mike were researching (or possibly making out instead), and Cooper and Sue were patrolling, hitting up different sources of information. And what was he doing?

Well, going to college and preparing for a second start in life but still, they could have included him!

"You're kind of moody," Sam mentioned as they were on their way to the cafeteria.

"It's nothing," Blaine said. "Some family stuff, but everything is fine. I'm just glad that lecture is over."

"Tell me about it, I'm starving...," Sam said.

Blaine was about to answer, but suddenly he realized something.

"What's wrong?"

"My notebook... I think I left it back in the lecture hall," Blaine said. "I'll go and check. Meet you in the cafeteria?"

He hardly waited for a reply before he started walking back. He would need these notes to prepare for the next test... if he could even focus enough on that.

Blaine expected there to be some people still inside the lecture hall, but to his surprise, there was just one girl left, standing right beside Blaine's desk, browsing through the notebook lying on top of it.

"Hey!"

The girl looked up as Blaine called out to her. For a moment, he thought she was way too young to be at college. His second thought was that he had never seen this girl before. She was a dark-haired teenager, a stranger, and she fixed Blaine with a weird stare that at the same time looked curious, as well as completely disinterested.

"This is yours, isn't it?" she asked. "I've been looking for you. The destiny boy, his aura was mingled with yours. Some of it is in here, too," she said, pointing to the notebook. "But now that I see you... it's nothing compared to your actual aura."

"M-my what?" Blaine asked.

"Your aura. I knew I had to find the one with this aura."

And suddenly, it clicked. "You're the faery," Blaine said. "You came through the portal."

"I can't find it anymore," the faery said shrugging. "But I don't care that much. Home is boring. Maybe you're more interesting."

Blaine shook his head incredulously. "Why would my aura be interesting? You've seen my brother, he's the chosen one!"

"Hmm... I've seen it. It burns. But you... you've been touched by the supernatural, haven't you?" the girl asked.

Touched... more like bitten, Blaine thought. Or maybe she was talking about the siren.

The girl walked up to him, almost skipping, and stopped in front of him. She looked more like a child than the serious threat everybody had warned him about. But then again, Blaine had thought the vampire was harmless right up to the point he'd been taken hostage.

"I think you need to return home," Blaine said softly.

"Will you come with me?" the faery asked.

It took Blaine a few seconds until he realized that she was completely serious. Now that she was so close, he could almost physically feel the otherness. This look of disinterested curiosity...

"Will you?"

There was almost something hypnotic about it.

"We could have fun, you and me. Maybe even enough fun to go back."

And suddenly, he saw it. A cat. She was like a cat, toying with a mouse, but ultimately not interested in his actual fate.

The grin on the girl's face wasn't anywhere near childlike or innocent. Now, it looked malicious.

"You don't want to join me though, do you?" the faery asked.

Blaine gulped. He tried to step backwards, but he felt mesmerized under the faery's eyes. "I really don't," he said softly.

The faery pouted. "I could reward you," she said. She stood right in front of him now, and almost tenderly, she tangled her hand in his hair, touching his cheek with her thumb. "How about... a quarter? That's how you say it?"

It didn't make sense, but even as Blaine tried to hold on to this thought, darkness started to creep in from the edge of his vision.

As the world faded into darkness, Blaine thought he had heard the fae's soft voice.

"So boring..."

* * *

Kurt glared around the cluttered room, filled with too many more or less magical trinkets. He tried to avoid this witch group whenever possible, more so when their personal star warlock was in town, but he needed information desperately.

"Well, well, well... didn't expect to see you here so soon."

Kurt rolled his eyes at the warlock's clearly well rehearsed greeting. "I thought you knew everything," he said, just so stopping himself from gritting his teeth.

There were many people he hated dealing with, but self-proclaimed master warlock Jesse St. James definitely was at the top of the list. Heir to a prestigious family of magic users, he had taken over the family business of trading in magical artifacts, and information.

Either could be helpful. Kurt hadn't been bothered by Cooper for almost two weeks, but nevertheless, he had started to think the safer bet was to find something to appease his demon lord and get out of here. The goblins had been a bust, but maybe Jesse could help him.

"I _wish_ I knew everything," Jesse said with a shrug, "could have the Slayer himself eating right out of my hand if I did. You know, you're not the only one he's pissed at."

"Why do you have a problem with the Slayer?" Kurt asked. "You'd think he'd appreciate someone who has as much information as you do."

"Well, I have this suspicion that he's jealous of my hair," Jesse said with a shrug, "but speaking of dear Cooper, you'll be sad to hear that you've recently been surpassed on his personal hit list."

Kurt's eyes widened. Now, _this_ was new information. "What do you mean?"

"Just that someone has managed to piss him off more than you have."

"I attacked his brother," Kurt said.

"Yeah, well, I'm afraid your attack wasn't as memorable as this one," Jesse said. "And since I'm in a generous mood today, you can even have this story for free. Did you hear about the faery that passed through the portal?"

"Who hasn't? I hate dealing with faeries," Kurt said. Nobody who had any experience with the fair folk would say anything else. It was bad enough to deal with their runaways. It only got really scary though, when the fae tried to bring back those they had lost. Of course, nobody wanted to risk that, so when a faery escaped, the result almost always was a generalized hunt, be it by the hands of witches, vampires, or the slayer himself.

"I hear the wolves got her," Jesse said, "which turns out is very bad news for the slayer. See, his brother had a run in with the faery, and rumor has it he never woke up."

This was not what Kurt had expected. "She killed him?" he asked. It didn't sound like something a faery would do... but then again, accidents did happen, and the fair folk usually didn't care. But still...

"Oh, he's alive, just in a coma. Lying in the hospital as we speak," Jesse said. "Sounds like a curse, from what I heard."

"A sleeping curse?" Kurt asked. Well, this was better than dead. He didn't know why he felt relieved at this. Blaine Anderson had been trouble enough, why should Kurt care at all about this?

"Kid's been under for almost a week," Jesse said. "And the faery was taken out before they could find out how to break it. So you see, if I just knew a way to break a sleeping curse, I might just find a way to iron things out with the slayer."

Kurt stared at him in disbelief. "What kind of faerie was she?" he asked.

Jesse shrugged. "Regular one. Not part of the leadership, if that's what you mean."

"So a regular faery cast a regular sleeping curse?" Kurt asked. "Why exactly is he not awake yet?"

"Right, because you know how to break a sleeping curse," Jesse scoffed.

"It's not that hard, is it?" Kurt said. "It's their most basic curse. There aren't that many variants of it. At least none that the foot folk know."

Jesse stared at him incredulously. "Are you telling me you know how to break it?"

Kurt frowned. "How do you not know it? Again, aren't you supposed to know everything?"

He paused then. Isabelle had been the one to teach him about faeries, true. And she had been around for the last invasion. Whatever you could say about the fae, they were definitely sneaky bastards. It wasn't completely out of the realm that over the centuries they had tried to erase that knowledge... but the stories were still prominent enough. Hell, they were even called fairy tales...

"Never mind that," Jesse said, "but really, I can see a deal here. You've come here looking for something, right? Tell me what you're after, and maybe you can trade for this piece of information."

Kurt snorted. "Actually, I don't think I need it anymore. As you said, this piece of knowledge might be just enough to get the slayer off my back."

He ignored Jesse calling after him and hurried out.

* * *

No matter how often he looked, Cooper would never get used to seeing his little brother lain up in hospital bed, pale as the sheets or the bare walls surrounding him. It had been almost a week since Blaine had been found inside the university, put into a coma by the faery. Their hopes to find her had been crushed by the wolf clan.

All of them had been trying to find a way to break this curse, but so far the only reference they found was to Disney movies and fairy tales, nothing about actual magic or monsters.

"We'll figure something out," Quinn said softly, leaning her head against his shoulder. It was calming to have her here by his side, but even so, he didn't know what to do.

"I can't believe I let this happen to him," Cooper said. "Look at him. He shouldn't even be here. He should be out there, becoming famous or something. And now he's in a coma, and I just... I don't know what to do."

"We'll figure something out," Quinn said. "We always do. Tina is going through our tomes even now, and Sue has contacted the Watchers' council. Somebody will know something."

"Like who?" Cooper asked.

"Like me."

Both Cooper and Quinn turned around in shock as they heard Kurt Hummel's voice. Neither of them had noticed him entering the room, but there he was, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

"What are you doing here?" Cooper asked. "Haven't you done enough?"

"I think I know how to break the curse," Kurt said. He didn't even take the bait.

"How would you know this?" Quinn asked, as always the rational one.

"My demon lord was around during their last invasion, I learned a thing or two from her, including a few things about their attacks and magic," Kurt said. "The faery that attacked him was just a foot soldier. They have a limited arsenal, so I think I have a pretty good idea on what to do."

"And you'll tell us, just like that?" Cooper asked. He wished it was that easy, just this one time, just for his brother. But when did that ever work? There was always a catch, or a price.

"I will tell you," the vampire said. "I only ask for one thing."

"Of course you do," Cooper said. Even to his own ears, the words were dripping in disgust.

Quinn gripped his hand. "Let's hear him out," she said. "We've worked with him before, remember? It worked out then."

"That was before he attacked my brother," Cooper said darkly.

"I know you want to protect him. But right now, that means you have to find a way to wake him up. So, Kurt, what are you asking for?"

"I made a mistake," Kurt said, "I never should have attacked him. I'm sorry. All I ask is that you stop hunting me. If I manage to wake him, don't come after me again. At least not for this."

"You want me to forget what you did?" Cooper asked.

"Only if I can wake him up," Kurt said. "I'm not a threat to him, you know I'm not. Give me this chance, and then we can part ways and not bother each other again."

"Alright," Cooper said. There wasn't much else he could say, and it was a small price to ask in order to save Blaine. "You have my word. Now what's the cure?"

Kurt's shoulders sagged in relief. "It's ridiculously simple, really. The foot soldiers are capable of a sleeping curse. It's one of the most famous pieces of magic, one of the few things still known about the fae. You probably know it from the classic tales... Snow White, Sleeping Beauty..."

Cooper stared at him in disbelief. "A fairy tale curse. She Snow-Whited my brother?"

"You could say that," Kurt said. "Fortunately, the tales also state the actual cure for it."

"You're _kidding_ , right?" Quinn asked. "I can't believe we didn't try this..."

True love's kiss... How could they not even have considered that?

"He's not seeing anyone, though," Quinn said, a frown on her face. "What should we do?"

"What?" Kurt looked at her in confusion.

"Don't worry, I've got this," Cooper said, stepping forward. "I've seen Frozen."

"What!?" Kurt repeated.

But what did it matter? Calmer than he'd been in days, Cooper sat down by his brother's bedside, and placed a kiss right onto his forehead.

Nothing happened.

Cooper stared at his brother, still unmoving. It didn't work. How could it not have worked? He did love his brother. So fine, he hadn't been that great at showing it these last few weeks... or years, really. But he would move heaven and earth for Blaine. How could this just not be enough?

"I'm so sorry," he heard Quinn whispered.

"Um... _what_ are you doing?" Kurt asked.

"It didn't work," Cooper said. "I don't understand. What is it?" Kurt had said the fairy tales were right... but what if Frozen had gotten it wrong? What if it did have to be a romantic kiss?

"Ugh, just... let me!"

Kurt moved closer and sat down on the other side of the bed. Carefully, he let his hands roam over Blaine's face. Eventually, he stopped.

"There it is," he muttered. He turned Blaine's head a bit, put his hand behind Blaine's ear, and seemed to pull on something.

Suddenly, Blaine gasped, and his eyes flew open. He looked around in confusion, and once his eyes settled on Kurt, they widened in panic.

Immediately, Cooper pulled Blaine into a hug. "It's okay, you're okay, you're safe."

"W-what happened?" Blaine asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"What did happen?" Quinn asked. "How did you wake him up?"

"What are you talking about?" Kurt asked. "That's how you break a sleeping curse, it's right there in the fairy tales."

"That wasn't a kiss, though," Cooper said.

"Kiss? Why would I kiss him?" Kurt said, staring at him as if he had lost his mind. And then, suddenly, it seemed to dawn on him. "You think those curses were lifted by _kissing_?" He snorted. "Next time, read the book instead of watching the Disney version. You need to remove the carrier of the curse from the victim's body. Sleeping Beauty woke up when the needle was sucked out of her finger. Snow White woke up once the piece of apple was dislodged from her throat. And your brother? Well, he woke up once I got this from behind his ear."

Like a cheap magician, the vampire presented them with what looked like a silver coin, although he didn't look nearly as smug as usual.

"So... I kept my word. Can I rely on yours?"

Cooper looked at Blaine, who still seemed out of it. He couldn't see the scars on his brother's throat, but he knew they were there. Could he really just forgive what had been done to Blaine?

No, only Blaine could. But he had not promised to forgive it – only to stop hunting the vampire. Cooper didn't like it. But he had given his word, and the result was Blaine being awake. Nobody asked him to trust or forgive. And was he really helping Blaine by following a vendetta?

He looked to Quinn, who nodded along as if she understood just what was going through his head. And maybe she was right. If he wanted to help Blaine, maybe he should stop hunting monsters and actually be a brother...

Frozen may have been wrong about the cure, but maybe it was time to let it go.

"My word stands," Cooper said. "Thank you."

 _To be continued_


	8. The Damsel In Distress, Part II

**The fifth time**

* * *

It was nice, walking through Sunnydale without having to worry about running into the slayer, even near the campus. Kurt wouldn't exactly call it safe, mostly because he didn't believe in safety anymore but it had improved vastly. It was definitely a better option than trying to earn Lady Isabelle's forgiveness. As long as he didn't draw too much attention to himself, he'd be safe around here. Who would have thought that the fae of all things would prove to be useful one night?

Kurt closed his eyes and let his hearing lead him. This hunt wasn't especially urgent. He wasn't starving, he just tried to replenish early. It was always smart to not risk a frenzy. As he tried to focus on someone, he heard what felt like a scuffle. Three people at least, so it wasn't that interesting to him. He was thinking more of a lone victim, maybe a student who forgot about time at the library. He was definitely not looking for a group. Usually, he would have just gone the other direction.

That was, of course, until he caught some of their words.

"Who the hell do you fucking fairy think you are?"

Kurt's eyes widened. Either this was interesting or infuriating as hell – either way, he wasn't going to let this one go. As he followed the sounds, he soon got a glance on the scene, and immediately had a feeling of déjà-vu. Blaine Anderson – because who else could it be but him? – was cornered by two guys looking like gorillas. To his surprise, Kurt realized that this time, they weren't vampires. They seemed to be regular humans.

"Think you can just spread your gay around here? Fucking California, seriously!"

Kurt froze, and suddenly, he felt very old. It had been decades, almost a century, since he'd been human, since he had grown up in Ohio and been taunted, tortured for who he was. He hadn't even had a boyfriend back then – the boy who vanished couldn't count, and none of those neanderthals had even met him – but Kurt's mere existence had been a problem for them. Even as a vampire who spent more time watching society than actually participating it, Kurt had noticed that humanity had grown since then. But some changes just took way too long. And these guys seemed to be stuck in at least the last century, anyway.

"You know, back home we don't have this crap. And if we find some, we punch it right out of them..."

Dumb as it sounded, it seemed to strike a chord with Blaine. Before, the boy had looked upset, defeated. Now, his head snapped up, and even with this distance, the fury in his eyes made Kurt almost take a step backwards. To his amazement, Blaine flew forward, landing a punch straight into one of the gorilla's jaws.

The guy hit stumbled backwards, howling in pain. Kurt was impressed, this had to be quite the punch. Maybe Blaine Anderson wasn't quite as defenseless as he would have thought. Unfortunately, he was still outnumbered.

While the first guy was still holding his face, the other one didn't lose any time. He too, could throw punches. Blaine raised his fists to block, and for a moment Kurt wondered if he could hold his own. But then the first guy was back, and between both of their attacks, Blaine fell against the wall, sinking down with his back against it. One of the gorillas kicked the boy, and that was when Kurt snapped. He ran as fast as he could, didn't even care if anybody could see his supernatural speed. He pulled the guy away before he could land another kick, turned him around and punched his face, sending him flying.

The other one stared at him, caught in his personal struggle of fight or flight. Kurt roared at him, getting ready to pounce on him. It was enough to send them running. A part of Kurt wanted to follow them, give them an actual lesson, and maybe soothe the hunger that was sparked by the fight.

Instead, he forced himself to calm down before he turned around.

Blaine was still on the ground but had gotten himself into a sitting position by now. His lip was bleeding, and Kurt had to force himself not to inhale. As he looked up to Kurt, different emotions were warring on the boy's face. There was relief, but also fear, and still a bit of anger.

"Are you alright?" Kurt asked.

"Are you stalking me?" Blaine replied.

"I guess I just have good timing," Kurt said shrugging. He held out his hand to help the boy to his feet. Blaine stared at it, then stood up without taking it.

"Lucky me," he said. It sounded as if he was spitting out the words.

"To be fair, that worked pretty well for you tonight. For the third time," Kurt said. "Why are you outside in the dark anyway?"

"You're not my brother," Blaine snapped. "Besides, I was just getting to the car."

Kurt looked where he was gesturing, and recognized the car he had seen Cooper in. At least the boy was _trying_ to be more careful.

"Why are you still here, though?" Kurt asked.

Blaine stared t him with incredulity now. "I'm not sure what you're doing, but stop it. You don't get to question me. We're not friends, we are nothing. What I do is none of your business!"

Kurt was taken aback by the fierceness in the boy's voice. But he had to admit that Blaine had a point.

Kurt had interfered mostly because of his own past experience. He knew he couldn't exactly expect to bond over this, didn't even want to. Blaine Anderson wasn't his business, and he definitely didn't have any reason to talk to him like this, like they were... friends? Connected in some way?

"I did just help you," he said. "They could have seriously hurt you, even if they're just humans."

Anger flashed in Blaine's eyes. "Really?" he asked. "Some homophobic assholes could have _hurt_ me? Gee, do tell me more about this! I had no idea this was a thing that could happen! And why would you care anyway?"

"I told you, I've been there."

It was simply the truth, and Kurt wasn't sure why he said it. But somehow, it had an effect. Blaine's anger faded as fast as it had come.

"Have you? Or is that another lie?" he asked.

"I haven't lied to you," Kurt said softly. "I hid things from you, but what I said to you was the truth." He hesitated, thinking back to that night. "I wasn't actually going to break your neck. But yes, the things I told you were the truth."

There was hesitation in Blaine's eyes. But then, he shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Do you really think I care about what you said? After what you've done to me?"

"I know," Kurt said, surprised how intense the shame he felt was. "And I am sorry. I know I hurt you-"

"You ruined my life," Blaine said. "And there's nothing in the world you can do to take it back. So whatever you're trying to accomplish by showing up like this all the time, if you think this is some way to make it up to me... it's not going to work. So just stop it."

Kurt wanted to protest, but Blaine didn't listen. He turned around, walked to the car and got in.

Kurt knew there was no point in arguing with him. He knew he had no right to do it, either. Blaine was right, and he couldn't just expect forgiveness for what he had done. He wasn't sure why he would want it in the first place.

Why did this even bother him? He had done worse to people. Then again... that had been in his old unlife. He had turned over a new leaf, tried to become a kind of vampire that he could stand being – that maybe his father wouldn't have been disgusted by. He hadn't done anything this bad since those children...

So was it this? Him failing his own standards? Or that déjà-vu, the memory of the boy who vanished? What was it about Blaine Anderson that got under his skin like this?

Looking after the car lights that now vanished behind a corner, Kurt wondered if he'd ever find out.

* * *

 **The sixth time**

* * *

Even in the state of slowly waking up, Kurt instantly realized that something was wrong. Somebody had come into his refuge. He was on his feet within seconds, looking around to find the intruder. He only had a moment to wonder whether Cooper had gone back on his word and hunted him down after all, when he heard the flick of a lighter, and then a wall of fire flared up right in front of his eyes.

Instinctively, Kurt stumbled backwards to the wall, but after the initial flare, only a thing line was burning in front of him, less than three feet high.

Kurt looked up, almost scared of who he was going to see – and cursed, when he saw the man standing behind the line of flame.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"And a good evening to you. How are you doing?" Jesse St. James was standing right behind the line of fire, beaming at him as if he was showing off a new magic trick – and in a way, he was.

"What is this?" Kurt asked, pointing to the flames.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Jesse asked. "Holy oil, very effective. Don't try crossing the line, no demon can. It's a new import from the holy land, and I managed to get my hand onto a sizable shipment of it."

Kurt stared at him incredulously. "Is this supposed to be some sort of sales pitch?" he asked.

"You couldn't handle it," Jesse said chuckling, "besides, I already made a deal with the slayer. He was quite happy. I actually think I've managed to get back into his good graces. Not that you were very helpful for that... And after I gave you such important information..." He sighed melodramaticallly as if that was an epic betrayal.

"What do you want?" Kurt asked.

"I need you to do something for me," Jesse said. "Don't worry, the reward is worth it. I need you to get some information for me, for a change. Information about the brotherhood."

"Where the hell am I supposed to find that?" Kurt asked. He only knew the most fleeting rumors about the brotherhood's mere existence. From what he heard, they sounded like a predecessor of the watchers' council, but they had been ridiculously secretive even before they'd been extinguished decades ago. That's what happened to people who built their headquarter right on top of the hell mouth...

"Roz Washington is coming to Sunnydale," Jesse said instead of answering. "You've heard about her, right? The terror of the watcher's council?"

"Eternal rival of Sue Sylvester," Kurt nodded.

"Well, she hates me," Jesse said. "There was this little scandal she was involved in a long time ago, which unfortunately came to light right when they were electing the watcher for Cooper Anderson. Cost her the job. And seeing as I was the one who gave that information to the council..."

"Why did you do that anyway?" Kurt asked.

Jesse shrugged. "Sue gave me a better deal, obviously. Anyway, rumor has it that dear Ms. Washington has spent most of her time since our last run-in researching the brotherhood, mostly about their old headquarter. I assume she's come to Sunnydale because she found it. If I could just get in there... the information I could find..."

"And why would I help you with that?" Kurt asked.

"You might profit from that information as well, you know?" Jesse asked. "You do know what their first priority was."

"Protecting humanity?" Kurt guessed.

"No, that just happened along the way," Jesse said. "They were founded for a scholastic purpose – to find the Philosopher's stone."

Kurt stared at him. "That's a myth," he said. It had become an automatic response.

"Your demon lord doesn't seem to think so," Jesse said. "Though I assume looking for the Philosopher's stone is a tiny bit above your pay grade. Of course, seeing how much she cares... I could imagine mere information might be enough to get you back in her good graces."

"Didn't you hear? The slayer doesn't hunt me anymore," Kurt said.

Again, Jesse sighed. "You really don't understand the concept of backup strategies, do you?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll see what I can do – if I get around to it. This is not a promise. And you better be out of here once the oil burns down," he said, glaring at the flames that were growing lower between them.

Jesse laughed. "Rumor has it you've lost your bite. Anyway, I'm getting out of dodge. Find me information, you won't regret it."

All Kurt could do was to glare at him as he walked away. He _really_ hated Jesse St. James. He just didn't understand where this sudden chumminess was coming from. Then again, who could ever guess Jesse's motives?

With a sigh, he resigned himself to waiting some more. And he wouldn't even think about going for this information until he got some blood into his system.

* * *

Blaine knew he didn't have the power his brother had, or Sue Sylvester's experience. He couldn't wield arcane powers like Quinn could, or brew potions as Tina did. He didn't know the weak points even mortals could take advantage of when fighting monsters, like Mike. He wasn't even really a part of his brothers gang. He knew nothing, really.

Nothing, except for one thing – Roz Washington was shady as hell. And he was _perplexed_ that nobody else seemed to be able to see it.

She had only been here a week, supposedly to investigate the faery incident. Sue had been livid. She and Cooper had reported about the faery being killed by the werewolves – because _of course_ Sunnydale had werewolves, too – and apparently, that should have been enough for the council. Instead, they sent another watcher to check the story, and even somebody that had some sort of personal vendetta against Sue.

"The watchers don't like Sue's methods," Cooper had said. "And I kind of get it. They have strict traditions, and Sue doesn't care, she has her own strategy. Not that I'm complaining, her strategy is the main reason I'm still alive."

"Shouldn't they be happy then?" Blaine had asked.

"Everyone knows the most important watcher is the one protecting the slayer," Quinn had told him. "And that job's kind of for life. So unless either your brother or Sue dies, the job isn't going to open."

Blaine had stared at Cooper in disbelief. "They _want_ you to get killed?"

Cooper had smirked. "No, of course not," he had said. "Only _some_ of them."

So obviously, things hadn't exactly gone smooth when Roz appeared. Blaine hadn't been present for their meeting, but from what Cooper had told him, it had been a disaster.

Cooper still tried to keep him out of the loop, but it was clear to see that tensions were running high in the group. Even Quinn was getting snappy, and that was a side of her Blaine had only heard of so far.

"I can't help it," Quinn had complained, "she just brings out my inner cheer captain."

Of course, Cooper's reaction had been to ask if she still had her old uniform. Sometimes Blaine really wished for some brain bleach.

And then, Sunnydale community college's actual cheer captain vanished.

Blaine barely knew her, some Latina girl with the worst temper ever, but even so he couldn't help feel concerned. Apparently, it hadn't been a vampire attack, and there were neither signs of violence nor a crime. It was as if she had just left. But her disappearing right before an important competition was just suspicious.

The next day, two more members of the cheer leading squad had disappeared. The day after, the captain of the women's swimming team and her best swimmer also went missing. By the end of the week, a dozen girls had disappeared, all of them members of sports teams, and Cooper wasn't one step closer to solving the mystery.

This was the situation the watcher's council picked to command Sue to come in for a report on the faery situation.

Blaine started to wonder if Sue was right to doubt their competence.

Even they seemed to know that it wasn't the best idea to send the watcher away in a crisis. So, they had decided to have Roz stay and take over the investigation.

It wasn't working. There were still no clues, and everybody seemed ready to scratch each others' eyes out at the slightest provocation. Suddenly, Blaine was glad that he wasn't actually involved in the investigation. It was stressful enough to watch it from the outside.

And maybe this outsider perspective put him into the position to see that something wasn't right about Roz. She kept everyone busy, always had some task for each of them, especially Cooper and Quinn. On the other hand, she was very secretive about what she was busy with. She even seemed to have taken over Sue's office, and Blaine was sure that Sue would rather blow it up than grant an outsider access to it.

"You're really distracted."

Blaine looked up in surprise when he heard Sam's voice. He then looked around. He had almost forgotten that he was in class, and apparently he had also completely missed that the lecture was over.

"Everything okay?" Sam asked. There was actual concern in his voice.

"I'm fine," Blaine said softly, "just distracted."

"It's not that thing again, is it?" Sam asked. "That was scary, finding you in here."

Blaine shuddered as he thought back to the faery. "That's taken care of," he said, "don't worry. It won't happen again." At least he really hoped it wouldn't. "I'm just worried, about those missing girls."

"They still haven't found any clue, it's just awful..."

It took Blaine a moment until he realized that Sam was talking about the police, not about Coopr and the others. "Not as far as I know.. It's just... weird, that they could all just disappear like this.

"I just hope Santana is alright..." Sam looked genuinely upset now. "We went out a few times last year... Then again, she dated a lot of people..."

"I'm sure they find her soon," Blaine said. At that moment, his phone started to play Cooper's ring tone. "Speak of the devil... Excuse me for a second?"

Sam nodded and started to walk out, while Blaine answered the call.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Hi, squirt. You doing okay? Paying attention and all that jazz?" Cooper asked. His voice was strained, though.

"I'm fine," Blaine said, "what's up with you? Did something happen?"

"Another girl vanished," Cooper said, "a friend of Tina's, Ellie, tennis player. They were talking on the phone when it happened. She called Tina, told her she got involved with something shady, and that she was scared of getting taken like the other girls. Wanted to tell Tina everything, then the connection was cut. Bad as it is, we know she was near the library. Looks like we were right – they are taken right off campus."

"That's something we can work with, right? Maybe we can find them?" Blaine asked.

"I hope so I need to talk to Roz, though. Tina has a locket of hers, so maybe Quinn could manage a locator spell with it," Cooper said. He sounded almost tired. Of course, the last weeks had been tough. "There's just one more thing. As I said, we're almost certain people are disappearing from campus. So when I'm done talking to Roz, I'll be taking you home."

"What? But I still have classes," Blaine protested.

"Blaine, I wasn't asking," Cooper snapped. "People are taken from that campus, I'm not letting you run around kidnapping grounds."

"But they're only taking girls," Blaine protested.

"And you're a magnet for trouble, I'm not taking any bets," Cooper said.

"You can't force me out of school the second something weird is going on," Blaine said. "You'd have to lock me up in my room if you're worried about that."

"I've considered it,", Cooper muttered. "And usually, the campus is safer. But with Sue gone and only Roz here... Just, humor me. This once, Blaine, come on?"

"This is insane, Cooper," Blaine said. "Can we at least talk about this?"

"What are you doing here?" Cooper asked. He sounded different, as if he wasn't talking to the phone anymore. "Never mind, listen we need to-"

There was a gasp, some sort of cracking noise, a thud... and Blaine thought he could hear footsteps.

"Cooper?" he asked. "Cooper, are you okay? Cooper!"

The call was ended.

Every fiber of Blaine's body felt frozen, as if there would never be warmth again. This couldn't be. Something had happened to Cooper? But... no! He was... Cooper! The chosen one, and all that! He was supposed to be invincible, invulnerable...

Until he wasn't.

Something had happened to Cooper – and Blaine was the only one who knew. This was not the moment to panic. This was the moment to run to Quinn.

* * *

"Everybody, calm down!"

Roz Washington wasn't Sue Sylvester, but Blaine had to admit she did know how to silence an enraged group of people. He had informed everybody of what happened and hurried back home as fast as he could. Quinn was already there, securing the living room and trying to gather any form of evidence, or anything that might give her a magical lead. Mike and Tina had been there only a short while later, and eventually, Roz herself had made an appearance.

Of course, by the time she had arrived, everyone was already tied up in a wild discussion about what should be done.

After silencing everyone, Roz looked around the group, her contempt growing as she looked from Quinn over to Tina and Mike, and eventually at Blaine.

"The slayer has been taken out," she said, "which tells us something about how serious this threat is. We need to be extremely careful. I will get in contact with the watchers' council, and I need you to stay put and not do anything stupid."

"What about my brother?" Blaine asked. "What are we going to do to find him?"

"I'll cast a locator spell," Quinn said. "There are enough of his things here. We can even get hair. We will find him."

"I must have missed you being placed in charge," Roz said, her voice scathing as nails over a chalkboard.

"You are not the boss of me," Quinn snapped. "I'm not the slayer, remember? I'm just a witch. I can do whatever I want, and what I want to do is go and save my idiot boyfriend."

Roz glared at her, and for a moment Blaine feared there would be an actual fight. But suddenly, she smirked.

"Well, then why don't you go do that?" she asked. "Cast your locator spell. Who knows, maybe someone who can take out the slayer didn't pay attention to a little detail like locator spells. At least you'll be out of my hair while I do something... useful."

A shudder went down Blaine's spine.

Quinn, too, looked uncertain – but only for a moment, before she went back into her usual mode. "Tina, you're with me. Mike, I need you to get a few things."

"Just try to stay out of my way, I've got to contact the council," Roz said. Without further question, she turned around and stormed out of the living room.

Blaine stared after her, not quite believing how little she seemed to care about what any of them would do. Did she think so little of their potential contributions? Unless something else was going on...

"Quinn, something's not right here," Blaine said.

"Hey, I _will_ find him," Quinn said. "Don't worry, we'll have him back before the night is over."

"How long will you need for this spell?" Blaine asked.

"Once I have all the ingredients?" Quinn sighed. "I'm afraid it will take a while. It could be hours, if he's being shielded. Roz seems to think that's the case."

"Don't you think something's weird about her? She's been acting strangely since she got to Sunnydale. And why did it take her so long to get here? And the way she acted about your spell...? Come on, something's going on there!"

"Look, I know she's weird. But you haven't met her before. She's always been confrontational, that's just her personality. You wouldn't trust Sue if you weren't used to her."

"But..."

Quinn held her hand up, shaking her head. "Look, Roz is a bitch. Everybody knows that. But she's a member of the watchers' council. She's on our side."

"Cooper said some of the watchers' council want him or Sue dead," Blaine said.

When Quinn spoke again, the impatience in her voice was palpable. "It's a joke, Blaine. We don't have time to deal with your paranoia, we need to find your brother."

"I'm telling you, something's not right here."

"Enough!" She looked at him fiercely. "Look, I'm sorry. I get that you're worried. You want to get your brother back. But what you're doing right now? It's not helping. I need to focus on this spell. And as much as you might hate it, there's really nothing you can do right now. Go upstairs, Blaine."

"I want to help!"

"You can't," Quinn said. "And I know if I let anything happen to you, neither me nor your brother would ever be able to forgive it. So for heaven's sake, Blaine, just do what I tell you and stay safe!"

Blaine wanted to protest, to press further how something was clearly going on with Roz, how she couldn't just send him to his room like a child...

But beneath her anger, Blaine could see that she was scared. Quinn was usually such a calm influence. If she was losing it, then things really were serious. And most importantly, she didn't give him the impression that she would listen to anything he had to say. So there was not a lot he could do.

"Okay," he said, "I'll stay out of your hair. Just... if this doesn't work, promise me you'll look into Roz."

"I'll find him with this. Just... go upstairs."

Blaine nodded and did as he was told. Once inside his room, he switched on his stereo, making sure the music was loud enough to be heard, but too quiet to be disturbing. He really didn't want to give Quinn any reason to come up here. To be safe, he locked his door and put his desk chair underneath the handle. Then, he got equipped. He had taken a jar of holy oil as well as a few stakes from Cooper's personal supply. He checked the old silver chain around his neck and the cross amulet he had inherited from his grandmother. It had been in their family for centuries, and he was pretty sure it counted as a holy symbol. He hesitated for a moment, before he went to his wardrobe. In the farthest corner, under a bunch of sweaters he'd never need in Sunnydale's heat, he hid a shoebox, and inside the switch blade knife that ther father still believed to have lost on a camping trip. Blaine didn't really know how to fight with it, and he knew that Cooper would throw a fit if he ever found out about its existence. Still, he didn't know what he was going up against, so he pocketed it.

Satisfied with his preparations, Blaine put on a jacket and then got out onto his balcony. He knew exactly how to safely climb out of his window and to the ground – Cooper had insisted he'd have a safe escape if there was an attacker inside the house again.

Quinn and everyone else could focus on that spell. He was going to find out just what Roz Washington was hiding.

* * *

Roz had taken over Sue Sylvester's office. Blaine knew enough to find it, and to remember that his brother and his friends usually met there for discussions, but of course he'd never been invited to join them. He wondered whether that would ever change. Apparently everybody just thought he was completely helpless. But this wasn't the moment to feel bitter.

Blaine wasn't sure what he expected to find in the office, but if he was going to start somewhere, it might as well be there. It wasn't a usual office, that much he could tell. It reminded him more of a throne room than an office. The whole room was centered around the mahogany desk that was ornamented with gold. A red carpet led up to it. On the walls, there were some wooden book shelves, and lots of what looked like paintings covered by black cloth. Curious, Blaine lifted a cloth to look at the painting below, only to find himself face to face with a portrait of Sue Sylvester.

Blaine didn't agree with Roz on much, but he definitely understood why she had preferred to cover these up. He turned away with a shudder

Not sure where he was going to start, Blaine decided to focus on the desk. It was cluttered with papers. Blaine started sorting through them. It seemed to be mail addressed to Sue Sylvester, and although he was sure the watcher would kill him if she ever found out about him reading them, he couldn't help his curiosity. There were several requests from the dean about what was going on with the cheer leading team. Apparently, Sue wasn't very clear about her finances and sponsors. Not important at the moment. Next, there was what looked like fan mail. Blaine just wondered whether he should actually risk his sanity by reading them, when he noticed something else. Under the letters, there were bigger papers. He carefully pulled them out.

They were blueprints, apparently from Sunnydale community college. Specifically, of its lower levels. Blaine hadn't spent too much time thinking about the basement, but from these blueprints it looked like there was a veritable maze beneath his feet. He could only guess at what kind of lunatic architect was responsible for this. But the plans marked stairs to another level beneath the basement that he hadn't even known existed. More importantly they had been circled in red.

Blaine wasn't sure what Roz was planning, but now he had an idea of where it was going on – maybe even where his brother might be. He took out his phone and snapped a picture of the plan, before he started burying it under the letters. When he was sure it looked like it had before, he stepped away from the desk. He'd check out the basement, now.

He turned around to leave the room. Unfortunately, this was the moment his luck ran out. The office doors opened and Roz herself was on the other side.

"And what are you doing here?" she asked.

Blaine froze, as she walked up to him. He was sure, Cooper or Quinn would have a quip ready in a situation like this, but he couldn't think of doing anything but standing like a deer in the headlights.

Roz looked at him, then at her desk. Maybe he had missed something, maybe she was naturally suspicious, or maybe she could just draw the right conclusions of catching him on his way out of the office. Either way, her eyes narrowed, as she walked closer to him.

"Well, boy... Are you familiar with the phrase _curiosity killed the cat_?"

"Where's my brother?" Blaine asked.

"You haven't figured that out yet?" Roz asked.

So she wasn't even trying to keep up a facade... that couldn't be a good sign. She'd probably figured out that he wasn't an actual threat to her.

"What have you done to him?"

Roz rolled her eyes. "Your brother had the misfortune of having Sue Sylvester as his watcher. Of course she has rubbed off on him. You think he's a good Slayer? Nobody on the watchers' council thinks so. He's ridiculous. He's pulling civilians into a fight they have no reason to be in. He surrounds himself with witches! And all at Sue's encouragement. He's listening more to her than the watchers' council."

"She's his watcher. And he's doing a great job," Blaine said.

"What do you know?" Roz asked. "A decent slayer would have never told you anything. But Cooper Anderson? He doesn't care, because Sue doesn't care. He's her tool, and they're working against the council. This is not what the slayer is supposed to be."

"I bet you know best, don't you?" Blaine asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do. And when I'm done here, I'll be able to prove it. I will be in charge of the new Slayer."

Blaine paled. He knew how a new slayer was created. "Even if you kill him, the council won't make you the new watcher. Besides, how would you even find the new slayer?"

"That would be complicated," Roz agreed, "and nothing I could bet on. So I'm not going to take this chance. I will make my own slayer. Multiple slayers, if things work out the way I hope. Your brother won't be necessary when I'm done with him, and when he falls, so will Sue Sylvester."

"You won't get away with this," Blaine said, "Quinn will find him."

"This college wasn't built by the state, you know?" Roz asked. "It was built by a society not unlike the Watchers' council. The brotherhood, they called himself. Not much known about them. Sunnydale has always been a magnet for the supernatural, and they tried to shield the mortals from it. The lower levels were their sacred chambers. Do you think a simple spell could pierce their protection?"

"But if I don't get in contact with her, she'll figure out what's up," Blaine said.

"If she knew you were here, you wouldn't be here alone," Roz replied. "And I'm afraid you won't be able to tell anyone."

Out of nowhere, some sort of staff appeared in her hand. Telescopic baton, his brain provided, although he was pretty sure that those weren't supposed to be surrounded by flashes of blue lightning, or emit this cracking noise... It was the last thought he could focus on, before Roz swung the staff, and pain exploded in his head, before thankfully, darkness enveloped him.

* * *

Blaine awoke with a groan.

The first thing he noticed was the hammering pain in his head. He wasn't sure what Roz had done to him, but it had worked. He couldn't see where he was. He was in some sort of enclosed space, maybe some sort of closet, and the only light coming in was a tiny slit where he assumed the door was. There was cloth inside his mouth. His hands were held behind his back, tied together with string. His legs too, were tied together. Great... why again hadn't he told Quinn where he was going?

From outside, he could hear steps and then the soft noise of paper being shuffled. Somebody was out there. Maybe Roz had just taken care of him and was still busy? How likely was it for someone else to be here in Sue's office? He shifted, trying to push the gag out of his mouth, but without success.

The shuffling stopped. For a moment everything was silent, then Blaine heard steps coming closer. Was it Roz? Had she heard him and was about to knock him out again?

The door opened, and blinding light fell in, with a silhouette looming in front of him. Before Blaine even got a chance to get used to this, hands grabbed his arms and he was pulled out, onto his feet.

"Again?"

Blaine didn't need to get used to the light to recognize the voice of Kurt, the vampire. He almost groaned – why did it _always_ have to be him?

The cloth was pulled out of his mouth, and finally, he got a clean breath of air.

"Are you alright?" Kurt asked.

"I'm okay," Blaine said. He tried to stand on his own, but he was swaying. There was a pull at his wrists, for a moment the string cut into his skin, and then it was torn away. A moment later, Kurt had taken care of the string around his feet, too.

"I thought Washington was on your side," Kurt said.

"Everyone did," Blaine said. "But she's trying to kill Cooper and create her own army of slayers."

"That can't possibly be good," Kurt muttered.

"Why do you care?" Blaine asked. And why did he feel the need to be contrary when Cooper's life was still in danger?

"It might surprise you, but I'm not looking forward to get used to another slayer – not when I just figured out how to deal with this one," Kurt said.

"What are you even doing here?"

"Investigating Washington. Rumor has it she found an entry to the brotherhood's sacred grounds," Kurt said.

"That's where she took Cooper," Blaine said. "I have to get there. No, wait, I've got to tell Quinn."

Kurt just watched him as he pulled out his phone, sending the picture of the blueprint to Quinn.

"Are you going to wait for her?" he asked.

"Hell no. I'm not risking Cooper getting killed," Blaine said. He hesitated. He needed to get down there, too much time had passed. But he didn't actually stand a chance against Roz. Waiting for Quinn wasn't an option...

Oh god. He actually needed to do this, didn't he? The words he never thought he'd have to utter... but this was about Cooper's life. What was the point?

"Kurt? I need your help."

* * *

 **...and the one time Blaine saved the day**

* * *

Blaine had never been to the college's basement. The map had shown it to be a maze, but he hadn't expected it to be this big, or convoluted. There were a million passageways, and the lighting was ridiculously wonky. It was hard enough to find his way even with a map.

But Cooper's life was in danger, and Blaine was terrified. As he had learned on that horrible camping trip with his father, fear did wonders for his sense of direction.

He could feel Kurt's eyes on him as he led them through the corridors, checking his phone and counting the crossroads they passed. He wasn't sure what the vampire was thinking, less sure if he even wanted to know, but there seemed to be a bit of surprise in there.

Good, it was time he changed the way people looked at him.

"Over there," Blaine said, walking up to a wall. There was some sort of tapestry hanging from it, but the map was clear. It had to be here. Completely sure, Blaine pushed the tapestry to the side – and found himself face to face with a stone wall.

"I don't understand..." He looked back to his phone. It should be here. He couldn't have gotten it wrong. This had been the right turn. If it wasn't here... where was he even supposed to start? But before he could panic, Kurt stepped beside him.

"You're right, it's here," he said. "Look, the stone's different, and there are scratch marks on the floor."

"It's so dark I'm glad I can even see it's stone," Blaine said.

"Right, humans," Kurt muttered. "Step back."

Blaine did and watched as the vampire put his hands on different places on the wall, pushing occasionally, while looking the wall over carefully. Eventually, he pushed in one place and the wall seemed to move.

"The secret society has a secret passageway. What a surprise," Kurt said, once he was done. There was only a slim opening, enough for both of them to slip through.

The passageway was pitch black. Without the light from his phone, Blaine was sure he would have stumbled on the uneven floor. Kurt in front of him didn't seem to have any problem, maybe because of some sort of vampire night vision. The passage took a turn before it led to a narrow spiral staircase. Blaine thought there was noise just at the edge of his perception. He could feel it more than hear it.

Kurt raised his hand to push away the phone. "We're close, I can hear it," he whispered. "Put that away."

"But I can't see without it," Blaine protested, also whispering.

For a moment, Kurt hesitated, and then he held out his hand. "I'll lead you."

Blaine stared at the hand, not sure what to do. Kurt was a vampire, and one who had betrayed his trust before. It was a scary thought to put himself into this man's hands. But what choice did he have? Cooper was in danger, and Kurt was the only one who could help him. Blaine could take a leap of faith, or he could give up on his brother.

And really, wasn't this just a symbolic struggle? If Kurt wanted to hurt him right now, there was literally nothing he could do about it, and taking his hand wouldn't change a thing.

"Okay," Blaine whispered, put his phone away, and took the vampire's hand. It was cold and dry, but Kurt's grip was sure and solid. The vampire's other hand found its way to Blaine's back around his shoulder blade.

Carefully, Kurt started taking the stairs down, one step after the other, making sure that Blaine followed. They reached the bottom eventually, and now Blaine thought he could hear a voice chanting. Kurt was moving, still holding him, as they walked down through absolute darkness. It had to be another corridor. Blaine thought he could feel the walls close to his sides. His feet hit something, a pebble maybe, and he stumbled.

The arm holding his hand was suddenly pressed against his chest, pulling his back against the vampire's solid form, and stopping his fall before it had even really started.

"Okay?" Kurt asked, barely audible against his ear.

Blaine nodded, unable to form words anymore. He wasn't quite sure why they bothered with whispering, seeing how his heart was beating loud enough to fill the corridor anyway. But he had to swallow his fear and keep going. He took another careful step, and Kurt followed, leading him through the darkness.

Eventually, Blaine could see the outline of the door at the end of the corridor. The light from the other side shone through, flickering, as if there was fire on the other side. The chanting voice had gotten louder. So whatever was happening, it didn't seem to be over yet.

Kurt stopped, holding Blaine steady in front of him.

"I'll open the door," he whispered so quietly that Blaine could hardly understand the words. "Cover your eyes, you don't want to get blinded."

Blaine nodded wordlessly. Kurt let go of his hand and stepped in front of him. Blaine raised his hand, covered his eyes with it and turned his gaze to the ground. He heard the scratching of stone on stone, and then the corridor was flooded with light. Even with his eyes covered and turned away, the light coming from the other side of the door seemed blinding. He could tell there were flames from the flickering light, and now he could hear the fire, too.

Kurt swore.

Blaine looked through his fingers, and immediately felt blinded. It took him a few moments until he could see. Right outside the door, he could see a narrow trench, a few inches wide. The fire was coming out of it, about three feet tall.

"Holy oil," Kurt said. It sounded like a curse.

Behind the fire, Blaine could see a huge, round hall. There was some sort of altar in the middle of it, made from white marble. There were candles standing on it, and in the middle where Blaine almost expected a bible, was some sort of black and gray mass the size of a fist.

Behind the altar, there was a figure with their back to them. Even from behind, Blaine recognized Roz Washington, still chanting. There were flashes of dark smoke emitting from the thing on the altar, hitting Roz, and shot away from her fingers. She was standing in front of two smaller, lower slabs of stone behind her. On each of them, there was a person. On the left, there was a tan girl in a cheer leading uniform, that he recognized as Santana Lopez, the missing cheer captain. She was screaming and swearing in Spanish. On the other slab was Cooper, pale as the stone beneath him and hardly moving. They were both tied down with rope.

Between the slabs, there was some sort of basin filled with dark liquid. _Blood_ , Blaine thought immediately. It shouldn't be his first thought, but this was Sunnydale. And as he looked closer, he could see that both Cooper and the girl had one arm hanging over the basin.

It _was_ blood. Cooper had a cut on his arm, and blood was dripping out of it, into the basin. The dark flashes from Roz' fingers hit the basin between them, stirring the liquid inside and making it rise, spiraling around Santana's arm and disappearing into the skin. It looked like some sort of magical blood transfusion.

On the far side of the room, the rest of the missing girls were huddled together. They, too, were tied up.

Blaine turned to Kurt. "Come on, we have to do something!"

But Kurt stared at the flames in front of him, unable to move.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked.

"Holy oil," Kurt repeated. He almost looked afraid. "I can't cross it."

"But we have to stop her!"

Apparently, that had been too loud.

"You again?" Roz asked. She had stopped chanting and turned around to face them.

The flashes dissolved, and the girl – Santana – stopped screaming. Cooper raised his head, slowly, as if it took all of his strength. He looked in Blaine's general direction, but he didn't seem to recognize him.

"So you managed to get free," Roz said. "And you got help from a demon. I shouldn't be surprised, you are Cooper Anderson's brother after all. This is exactly why I'm doing this."

Blaine was terrified of facing her. But then he looked to Kurt, who seemed genuinely distressed by the flames. He wasn't sure how much help he'd get from this side. No, this was apparently his fight, so again, he tried to swallow his fear and stand up to her.

"What _are_ you doing?" he asked. "I'm sure the watchers' council would be really interested."

"They too will be obsolete soon," Roz said. "I told you, I will make a new slayer. Several new ones, if I manage. Those girls will be perfect. Fit, obedient, loyal, and soon as powerful as any slayer. The gift is bound in your brother's blood. The brotherhood has found a way to siphon properties from blood. They managed to bind them into stones, like this one. But I have found a better way. The slayer's power needs to lie with a living being. I found a way to transfer the power from the blood into a living human."

"You really want to make your own slayer," Blaine said. "You're ready to kill Cooper over this?"

"He's a failure as a slayer. I will make a better one."

"Then why do you need all of these girls?" Kurt asked beside him.

"The method hasn't been tested," Roz said with a shrug. "Miss Lopez here seems to be struggling with it. I do hope she'll make it. Otherwise... I have enough girls here to get it right eventually. And if I end up with half an army... Well, the more, the merrier."

Her hands moved, and the flashes returned.

"You won't get away with this," Blaine yelled.

"So you said," Roz said with a shrug. "But you're just a child, and your vampire can't cross the holy flames. So you'll forgive me if I'm not exactly terrified."

With that, she turned back and started chanting again. Santana's screaming commenced, got even louder than before. The flashes got more intense, turned into an almost constant stream now. Roz threw her head back, still chanting. Her eyes seemed to have turned white.

Blaine turned to Kurt. "We have to do _something_ ," he yelled.

"I can't," Kurt said. "Not if I don't find something to put out these flames."

Blaine looked around, but there was nothing here, not on their side of the flames. And nobody on the other side was in a position to help them.

Cooper was right in front him, bleeding out, _dying!_ Quinn would take too long to get here. And putting his trust in Kurt might not have hurt him, but it certainly wasn't helping him right now either. There was nobody left to help.

There was only Blaine himself.

He took a few steps backwards, and stared at the flames. It was only a line. Only a few inches. It was still terrifying. But this was the only choice he had. He took a deep breath, he started to run, and he jumped.

He thought his heart would stop. He had never been able to jump very high in PE classes, but there was no bar to get over, just the flames. The heat enveloped his legs as he passed over the trench, hot and painful, for just a moment, and then...

Blaine landed on his feet on the other side of the flames. On instinct, he dropped to the ground. Even as he did it, he could feel the heat staying on his legs. He rolled over the floor, and for a moment he could see the flames on his pants before they extinguished. He took a moment to thank god he hated synthetic fabrics, before getting back to his feet.

Roz hadn't turned around. The black energy flow was constant now from that stone to her, and from her fingers into the basin. Blaine was shaking, but this was not the moment to lose his courage.

He felt his grandmother's amulet resting against his chest. A Hail Mary pass... wasn't that fitting? His fingers closed around the knife in his pocket. Without another moment of hesitation, Blaine stepped up to the altar. He looked down at the weird, grey mass. It looked like a stone from here, but it was pulsating like a heart.

It didn't matter what it was. He took out the knife, and brought the blade down, right into its center.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a shock wave erupted from the altar, throwing Blaine off his feet.

Roz' screaming filled the room as the energy shot back at her. She was thrashing on the ground, as if she was having some sort of seizure.

Blaine got to his feet and ran to where his brother was tied to the stone. With a few cuts, he had freed his brother from the ropes. Cooper stared at him with an expression that looked close to awe.

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked. His voice almost faltered.

"The girl," Cooper said. "Help her..." His voice was hoarse, but he seemed much surer of himself than Blaine felt.

Her face was tear stained and she was sobbing as Blaine cut her loose.

"I didn't know," she gasped. "I didn't know it would be like this. She said she'd help us... give us power... I didn't know..."

"It's okay," Blaine said softly. "You're safe now. We've got you. It's over."

Somehow, his voice seemed to calm her down at least a little bit.

Blaine looked around. Roz had stopped moving, and he wondered if she had died. The thought scared him. But hadn't she brought this on herself, really? How could he feel bad for her, when she had just tried to kill his brother?

Right, Cooper, who tried to sit up but was clearly too drained. Blaine couldn't get him and Santana and Roz out of here, not to mention all those other girls...

There was a bang from behind him. Blaine turned around to see Kurt walking up to him, right through the fire – or rather, through a gap between the flames, right over another stone slab thrown over them. It took Blaine another moment to realize it was the door that the vampire must have torn off its hinges to use as a bridge.

"We need to get them out," he said as he walked closer. "Go, cut those girls loose."

"Okay." Somehow, Blaine felt much better, now that he didn't have to be in charge anymore.

The other girls seemed to be okay, although they looked completely terrified. Somebody would have to figure out what to tell them, or how to deal with them. But right now, they needed to get them out. In a few moments, he had cut them loose. When he got back to the slabs, he found Cooper had sat up, although he looked as if he was about to collapse. Kurt stepped up to him and helped him to his feet. Blaine hurried to stand by his brother's side.

"I've got Cooper, you get Roz and Santana," he said as he put an arm around his brother, encouraging him to lean against him.

"He might be a bit too heavy for you," Kurt said.

Blaine shook his head. "He's my brother. I've got this."

Kurt hesitated, then he shrugged. "As you wish."

"I don't need help," Santana barked, even though she looked almost as shaky as Cooper. Kurt didn't seem to care. He threw Roz' unconscious form over his shoulder, but he kept close to Santana so he could catch her if she needed help.

Cooper leaned against Blaine. And yes, this would be hard, but he just got his brother back, he would not complain.

It took surprisingly long for them to get the whole group through the corridor. Thankfully, Kurt had thought to get candles from the altar, and it helped. Still, by the time they had arrived in the basement, Blaine was getting antsy. Cooper needed a hospital. He needed to call an ambulance, but his phone still didn't show even one bar.

They had just gotten the whole group out of the corridor, when they heard steps of several people coming closer. To his immense relief, Blaine recognized Quinn, Tina, Mike – and Sue.

For a moment, Quinn stared at them. Then, she ran up to Blaine and basically dragged Cooper into her arms. Blaine didn't complain, his shoulders and back were aching from the weight.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, looking at Sue.

"I had a hunch," she said. "I'm famous for them. And Barbie here kept me informed. Now let's get these girl upstairs. We can do the show and tell session when the medical issues have been sorted."

She turned to the group, starting to organize their return to the surface. She even took it upon herself to take hold of Cooper, who by now could barely even stand.

Blaine leaned back against the wall and allowed himself one moment to breath and close his eyes. It was okay. Sue and Quinn would take care of everything now. Cooper was safe, and things were under control. They had done well.

He had done well.

There was a hand on his arm, and when he opened his eyes, Kurt was standing in front of him. For once, the sight made him feel calm instead of nervous.

"Let's go," the vampire said, nodding to the rest of the group that had already started moving. "It's almost over now. Come on."

* * *

Three hours later, Kurt wasn't even sure himself why he lingered around outside the hospital.

Granted, he wouldn't have been too happy if Cooper Anderson had died, but that was more about adjusting to a new slayer instead of any sort of fondness. He didn't care that much either about girls they had rescued, or whether Roz Washington had survived. The one thing he had been interested in was the stone Blaine had destroyed, but that was resting safely in his coat pocket. He had pocketed it while he had taken those candles. Maybe Jesse could do something with it.

What was he still doing here? It almost felt as if he was waiting for something, but he didn't know what it was.

"Hey."

He didn't turn at the sound of the soft voice, just kept staring at the street in front of him. He hadn't actually been waiting for the boy, had he? But as Blaine came to stand beside him, Kurt admitted to himself that maybe he had.

"I saw you from the window," Blaine said. "And I thought Quinn might need some time with Cooper. Alone."

"Privacy in a hospital," Kurt mused. "Isn't that unhygienic?"

"I think she'd rather rip his head off for almost getting killed," Blaine said.

"And you just abandon him? Harsh," Kurt said.

Blaine chuckled. "I guess worst case they can just sew him back together here."

They stood side by side in silence for a moment. Kurt took a glance at the boy standing beside him. He seemed... different. Almost every time Kurt had seen him, Blaine had looked more vulnerable, even when he had been angry. Now, he looked calm and relaxed. He even seemed taller, standing upright, more confident than Kurt had ever seen him – of course, mostly he had seen the boy being in various kinds of danger and under threat.

"How is everyone?" Kurt asked, trying to break the silence.

"Cooper just lost a lot of blood," Blaine said. "They have him on transfusions, he's going to be fine. The girls are mostly unharmed. Santana... I don't know. Something might have happened to her during that ritual. Quinn thinks she might actually have absorbed some of Cooper's powers. We have to wait what the watchers' council says. Sue is going to take care of it."

"What about Roz?"

"She's in a coma. But she's alive," Blaine said. His shoulders slumped in relief for a moment. Kurt wondered why he would even care – the woman had just tried to kill his brother. Then, he realized, this boy had never taken a life. He wasn't a killer. How far gone was Kurt that this came as such a surprise to him?

"I wanted to thank you," Blaine said. "For helping tonight."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Sure, you never would have made it without me standing there doing nothing."

"Well, I would have been locked up in a closet if you hadn't shown up. I also have no idea how I would have gotten anyone out of there without you," Blaine said.

For a moment, Kurt felt the urge to argue, but he let it go. Instead, he shrugged. "You're welcome, then."

There was another moment of silence, before Blaine spoke again.

"I also owe you an apology."

Kurt turned around and stared at him, not sure if he'd heard that correctly. "What?"

"For what I said, the last time I saw you. That wasn't fair, and I'm sorry," Blaine said.

"Why? I did ruin your life," Kurt said, "and I'm the one who should be sorry. I _am_ sorry. I should never have attacked you."

"You're right. You shouldn't have," Blaine said. "But that's not what I meant. The thing is... I was only supposed to be in Sunnydale for a few days. Cooper was already planning to set me up in New York. I would have gone to college there, could study what I loved, have the life I wanted to. I would have been upset that my brother just sent me away like this. But I would have gotten over it and just... lived my life."

"It sounds nice," Kurt said, although he had no idea where the boy was going with this.

"It would have been nice," Blaine agreed. "I wouldn't have known better. But that's the thing. When you attacked me, you did more than just hurt me. You showed me the truth. Cooper sheltered me all my life, he never wanted me to know anything about this. But after I found out... It changed everything. I couldn't just leave when I knew that Cooper was out here, risking his life every night. I couldn't just go to New York and pretend this wasn't happening. I needed to help him. Or at least I needed to be here. Before, I barely even knew my brother. If I had left... Some day, I would have gotten a phone call from Quinn, telling me that my brother was dead. I couldn't stand that thought. So I had to stay. I wanted to help him, but even if I couldn't help, I at least wanted to get to know him."

"I wondered why you stayed here," Kurt said, "though that makes sense, that you wouldn't want to lose your brother." He knew exactly how that felt.

"The thing is... I didn't feel like I belonged here," Blaine said. "I felt so helpless all the time. And I got into so much trouble, and always needed somebody to come and rescue me. I wasn't helping Cooper, I was giving him even more trouble. I felt like I shouldn't stay here, but I couldn't stand the thought of leaving, either. I hated this situation so much. I didn't know how to deal with it. And you're the one who started it all, and you kept showing up. So you see, it was easy to just blame it all on you. But that wasn't fair, and I'm sorry for that."

Kurt looked the boy over. "And now?"

"If I hadn't been there tonight, Cooper would have died," Blaine said. "I could have been in New York, and I would have gotten that call. I never would have known anything about him. So, if you hadn't cast me into this madness... my brother would have died. Me being here actually helped him." He shrugged. "Maybe this was a fluke. Or maybe I'm not as out of place here as I thought. We'll see. But... I think I can get used to this, you know? Sunnydale, monsters, magic... I could make a life here. I want to. So you may have completely rerouted my life. But you didn't ruin it."

There was a moment of hesitation, but then he held out his hand to Kurt. "So, how about a fresh start?"

Kurt looked at the hand, then up at the boy in front of them. He didn't even understand why Blaine would care for this. Kurt had attacked him, had hurt him to the point that he could still remember the screams. And yes, Kurt had saved him, too, but he wasn't sure that warranted forgiveness. Or maybe, this wasn't forgiveness – maybe this was moving on. Still, not everybody would give him a chance after what he'd done.

Kurt felt the corners of his mouth twitch up, as he took the offered hand.

"To a fresh start," he said.

Blaine smiled, and for a second Kurt had an intense feeling of déjà-vu. He wasn't sure how much of that was grounded in actual memory and how much in the fact that this was the first time in forever that someone had given him a look like this. But really, it didn't matter.

Blaine let go of his hand, still smiling. "I should go back in. I think Quinn should have gotten out most of her anger by now, and I couldn't possibly let the nurses walk in on the unhygienic part."

"So you sacrifice your own sanity," Kurt said. "Maybe there's a little bit of slayer in you after all."

Blaine grinned. "Maybe. Anyway, I'll see you around?"

"You will," Kurt said.

With a last smile and a short wave, Blaine turned around and walked back into the hospital.

Kurt shook his head as the boy disappeared inside the building, his head held high and confident as if he had no care in the world.

"Blaine Anderson," he said musingly. "Sunnydale has no idea what it's in for."


End file.
